E  MASTER'S  SI 
ILIJAH  JOHN  FIS 


MILES  MARK  FISHER 


BX  6455  .Ybl' F57  1922 
Fisher,  Miles  Mark,  1899- 
The  Master's  slave,  Elijah 
John  Fisher 


THE  MASTER'S  SLAVE 
ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 


THE    MASTER'S    SLAVE 

ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 


A  BIOGRAPHY 


By 

HIS   SON 

MILES   MARK  ^FISHER 

Pastor  Zion  Baptist  Church,  Racine,  Wisconsin 
Author  of  "  Lott  Cary  " 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY  THE 

Rev.  LACEY  KIRK  WILLIAMS,  D.  D. 

AND  AN  APPRECIATION  BY  THE 

Hon.  MARTIN  B.  MADDEN 

Sixty-sixth  Congress 


PHILADELPHIA 

THE    JUDSON    PRESS 

BOSTON  CHICAGO  ST.  LOUIS  LOS  ANGELES 

KANSAS  CITY  SEATTLE  TORONTO 


Copyright,  1922,  by 
GILBERT  N.  BRINK,  Secretary 


Published  June,  1922 


Printed  in  U.  S.  A, 


TO 

fig  Mattyv 

A  VOICE    FROM    THE    DARK 


FOREWORD 

In  this  day  when  so  much  is  written  about  the 
Negro,  so  little  is  said  concerning  his  church.  What- 
ever advancement  has  been  made  by  him  must  be  laid 
largely  at  the  door  of  those  who  lead  his  church.  This 
brief  sketch  is  designed  to  represent  one  minister  highly 
typical  of  the  great  Negro  Baptist  denomination  and 
to  reflect,  in  a  small  way,  the  opinions  of  Negro  Bap- 
tist leaders  concerning  the  denomination  during  the 
last  fifty  years. 

I  express  my  thanks  for  the  many  suggestions  and 
for  much  of  the  information  herein  contained  to  my 
many  relatives,  and  to  Mrs.  L.  Davis ;  Mr.  A.  Banks ; 
the  Rev.  Lacey  Kirk  Williams,  D.  D. ;  the  Rev.  E. 
W.  D.  Isaac,  D.  D.;  President  John  Hope,  A.  M., 
LL.  D. ;  the  Rev.  Charles  H.  Young ;  the  Rev.  Edwin 
P.  Johnson,  D.  D.;  the  Rev.  Peter  James  Bryant, 
D.  D. ;  and  the  Rev.  Sutton  E.  Griggs,  D.  D.  I  also 
appreciate  the  helpfulness  and  encouragement  given  by 
the  President  and  members  of  the  faculty  of  the 
Northern  Baptist  Theological  Seminary  of  Chicago. 
I  am  especially  grateful  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Augustine  S. 


FOREWORD 


Carman  and  the  Rev.  Dean  Shailer  Mathews,  who  re- 
spectively critically  read  my  manuscript  and  kindly 
advised  me  in  this  task  of  love. 

I  write,  too,  from  the  soul  rather  than  to  be  heard 
of  men.  I  write  for  him  who  left  no  trace  of  his  sail- 
ing-self, save  rippling  waves  and  sheets  upon  the  sur- 
face strewn,  which  I  caught  up.  I  write  that  young 
men  everywhere  might  court  a  friendship  not  in  vain, 
that  older  seers  who  conquered  pain  might  glory  in  the 
young  men's  gains,  I  write.  I  write  from  promptings, 
big  and  great,  for  hearts  of  friends  and  for  mine  that 

aches. 

And  then,  the  last  song 

When  the  dead  man  is  praised  on  his  journey — *  Bear,  bear 
him  along 

With  his  few  faults  shut  up  like  dead  flowerets !    Are  balm- 
seeds  not  here 

To  console  us?    The  land  has  none  left  such  as  he  on  the  bier. 

Oh  would  we  might  keep  thee,  my  brother !  ' — Browning. 

M.  M.  F. 

Chicago,  December  25,  1921. 


INTRODUCTION 

The  study  of  the  past,  one  element  of  history,  is  a 
guide  in  forecasting  the  future.  On  the  one  hand  it  is 
a  caution,  and  on  the  other  an  inspiration.  History  is 
the  truest  biography,  or  biography  is  the  truest  history. 
The  lives  of  men  filling  sacred  or  ecclesiastical  posi- 
tions have  been  the  richest  heritage  of  historians. 
Secular  and  sacred  history  would  be  void  of  much  of 
its  luster  and  potentiality,  if  it  did  not  give  the  achieve- 
ments of  Luther,  Calvin,  Chrysostom,  Wesley,  Spur- 
geon,  and  many  other  illustrious  church  characters. 

Our  race  group  and  our  churches  must  tarry  here 
long  enough  to  learn  the  value  of  this  subject  and  the 
importance  of  the  biographer's  pen.  That  it  is 
"  mightier  than  the  sword  "  applies  here  with  more 
force  and  aptness  than  elsewhere.  Deeply  stirred  by 
this  fact,  the  author  of  this  volume  presents  to  the 
world  the  biography  of  the  lamented  Rev.  E.  J. 
Fisher,  D.  D. 

Now,  reader,  pause  just  a  moment  before  you  begin 
the  perusal  of  the  remarkably  interesting  pages  of  this 
volume.     This  book  is  a  good  deed.     It  deals  with 


INTRODUCTION 


the  life  and  the  achievements  of  a  masterful  character : 
a  preacher  of  the  last  generation  of  slaves,  and  one 
that  clearly  illustrated  the  possibilities  of  his  race  and 
the  all-conquering  power  of  God's  grace. 

He,  the  late  Rev.  E.  J.  Fisher,  D.  D.,  was  one  of 
nature's  noblemen.  He  was  blessed  with  an  imposing 
physique  and  a  commanding  presence.  He  possessed 
a  strong  personality,  was  always  moved  by  deep  con- 
victions and  by  purposes  that  were  constant  and  cap- 
tivating. He  loved  humanity  with  a  deathless,  pulsa- 
ting devotion  because  he  first  loved  God.  His  love 
was  not  of  the  sentimental,  evanescent  type,  but  was 
crystallized  and  expressed  in  altruistic  services  which 
yet  live  to  accentuate  his  memory. 

Whatever  may  die  or  be  forgot, 
Work  done  for  God,  it  dieth  not. 

This  volume  written  by  M.  M.  Fisher,  a  young 
theologue,  and  the  son  of  the  Dr.  E.  J.  Fisher,  is  con- 
vincing evidence  of  the  substantial  worth  of  the  labors 
of  his  father,  the  slave,  the  freeman,  the  "  ambassa- 
dor of  Christ,"  sailing  in  "  turbulent  seas,"  but  bring- 
ing into  "  calm  harbors  "  at  last  his  most  valuable 
cargoes. 

The  book  is  written  with  a  facile  pen  and  in  a 
charming  style,  and  will,  if  read  understandingly,  be 


INTRODUCTION 


an  abiding  inspiration  to  Christian  workers  and  minis- 
ters, "  Knights  of  the  Cross,"  "  the  slaves  of  Christ 
Jesus."  It  shows  plainly  what  God  can  do  with  man's 
resources  when  these  are  fully  surrendered  to  him. 

It  is  history,  biography,  having  a  setting  and  a  sub- 
ject which  alone  are  interesting.  But  the  clearness 
and  general  style  of  this  author,  his  keen  insight,  and 
his  apt,  faithful  compilation  of  many  scattered,  tragic 
facts,  and  his  skilful  interpretations  of  these  increase 
marvelously  the  interest  and  value  of  this  life  of  the 
Master's  slave. 

It  is  the  pathetic  story  of  an  earnest,  patriotic  pastor, 
beset  here  and  there  by  unusual  difficulties — but  he 
battles  with  them  and  converts  them  into  stepping- 
stones  by  which  he  "  mounts  the  zenith,"  leading  with 
him  innumerable  hosts  from  the  world's  plains  and  its 
miasmic  lowlands.  He  was  no  creature  of  environ- 
ments. He  followed  not  "  the  line  of  least  resistance," 
but  being  a  man  of  courage,  he  rightfully  has  his  place 
with  those  of  whom  Dry  den  discoursed  when  he  said : 

The  brave  man  seeks  not  popular  applause, 
Nor,  overpower'd  with  arms,  deserts  his  cause; 
Unsham'd,  though  foil'd,  he  does  the  best  he  can. 

Doctor  Fisher  wrought  well.  The  present  harmony 
and  progress  of  Olivet  are  eloquent  and  convincing 


INTRODUCTION 


testimony  of  his  useful  life  and  labors.  Here  "  he 
being  dead  yet  speaketh." 

We  pray  that  God's  choicest  blessings  will  rest  upon 
the  book,  give  it  a  wide  and  ready  circulation,  and 
thereby  help  to  verify  the  promise  of  God, 

"  He  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  pre- 
cious seed,  shall  doubtless  come  again  with  rejoicing, 
bringing  his  sheaves  with  him." 

L.  K.  Williams, 

Pastor  Olivet  Baptist  Church, 

Chicago,  Illinois. 


AN  APPRECIATION 

That  poverty,  obscurity,  and  lowly  birth  are  no 
handicap  is  frequently  evidenced  in  the  later  develop- 
ment and  conspicuous  achievements  of  men.  Affluence 
and  opportunity  do  not  insure  leadership.  Poverty  is  not 
always  a  guaranty  that  those  who  live  in  its  surround- 
ings will  reach  conspicuous  heights,  but  there  is  greater 
incentive  for  those  who  have  all  to  gain  and  nothing  to 
lose  to  exert  themselves  than  is  the  case  with  those  who 
are  supplied  with  everything  which  money  and  comfort 
afford.  A  fixed  purpose  in  life,  integrity,  morality, 
industry,  truthfulness,  and  determination  are  among 
the  elements  necessary  to  success.  It  does  not  matter 
that  those  who  possess  these  elements  are  handicapped 
either  by  lack  of  opportunity  or  wealth  or  influence. 
Success  comes  to  those  who  are  determined  to  achieve 
it  and  have  but  one  object  and  that  object  the  fulfil- 
ment of  an  ambition,  and  who  work  toward  it  unceas- 
ingly and  will  not  be  diverted  from  that  ambition  by 
any  obstacle.  Obstacles  to  such  men  are  but  added 
incentives  to  success.  They  bring  out  the  best  there 
is  in  a  man.    Comfort  and  pleasure  and  luxurious  sur- 


AN  APPRECIATION 


roundings  are  not  calculated  to  encourage  the  determi- 
nation of  individuals.  Those  who  live  under  such  cir- 
cumstances move  along  the  lines  of  least  resistance. 
The  great  men  of  the  world  have  come  from  the  poor 
and  lowly.  They  have  achieved  success  because  they 
have  had  the  will  to  work.  They  have  overcome  op- 
position because  they  have  learned  the  art  of  work. 
Work  is  an  essential  element  to  any  success  sought  to 
be  attained.  The  idle  individual  never  overcomes  ob- 
stacles. He  shrinks  from  the  effort  which  the  obsta- 
cles make  necessary,  but  the  worker  sees  only  the  goal 
to  which  he  aspires  and  he  has  no  fear  of  failure.  He 
knows  that  if  he  succeeds  he  must  run  the  gauntlet; 
that  his  success  is  dependent  upon  the  display  of  a  bet- 
ter genius  than  that  possessed  by  his  contender.  He 
allows  nothing  to  discourage  him  as  he  passes  along  the 
journey  of  life.  He  does  what  he  starts  out  to  do,  be- 
cause he  has  made  up  his  mind  to  do  it.  He  grows 
step  by  step,  through  his  untiring  efforts,  into  the 
broader  spheres  of  activity.  His  stature  expands  to 
meet  the  greater  responsibilities.  He  enjoys  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  achievement  to  which  he  looks  forward. 
Having  achieved,  he  begins  to  work  to  a  higher  level, 
and  while  moving  forward  to  the  higher  level  he  con- 
tinues to  enjoy  in  anticipation  the  next  achievement, 


AN  APPRECIATION 


and  so  life  with  him  becomes  one  continuous  joy  as 
he  moves  from  one  level  to  another.  He  does  not  rest 
satisfied  with  what  he  has  done,  but  continues  onward 
and  upward  until  his  work  is  finally  accomplished. 

There  is  no  better  illustration  of  this  than  the  suc- 
cess achieved  by  my  late,  dearly  beloved  friend,  Elijah 
John  Fisher,  born  in  slavery  and  further  handicapped 
by  the  loss  of  a  leg  which  forced  him  to  pass  through 
life  on  crutches.  He,  nevertheless,  became  one  of 
the  leading  men  of  his  time.  Loved  by  all  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact,  not  only  for  himself,  but  for  his 
work  in  which  he  was  regarded  by  all  who  knew 
him  as  foremost  among  his  associates;  a  great  orator 
whose  words  rang  with  eloquence  and  whose  patriot- 
ism knew  no  turning,  whose  life  was  devoted  to  the 
upbuilding  of  his  race,  whose  word  was  law  with  his 
congregation  and  his  people,  he  established  a  great 
church,  surrounding  himself  with  a  happy  and  con- 
tented multitude  of  people,  with  whom  his  word  was 
supreme. 

It  was  a  delight  to  know  this  man;  to  realize  that 
out  of  slavery  he  worked  his  way  to  the  forefront 
among  the  great  divines  of  the  nation.  It  is  a  great 
comfort  now  to  look  back  upon  his  life  and  to  realize 
that,  though  he  has  passed  from  the  scene  of  activity, 


AN  APPRECIATION 


his  work  still  lives  on  and  his  memory  continues  to 
be  honored  and  revered  by  those  who  knew  him.  His 
example  may  well  be  emulated,  for  no  man  I  have 
ever  known  was  more  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  hearts 
and  minds  of  a  people  than  he.  He  was  my  friend ;  I 
was  his.  While  he  loved  his  people  as  a  race,  there 
was  no  race  prejudice  in  him.  He  was  a  typical  ex- 
ample of  a  true  American  whose  every  act  was  for  the 
promotion  of  a  better  life  among  the  human  race,  bet- 
ter conditions  in  the  home,  and  better  opportunities  in 
the  nation  for  all  who  might  choose  to  embrace  them. 
His,  in  fact,  was  a  work  which  was  calculated  to  make 
the  country  better,  friends  dearer,  and  home  brighter. 
His  memory  will  live  and  his  work  endure  as  one  more 
evidence  of  what  it  is  possible  for  an  individual  to 
achieve  whose  mind  runs  in  the  right  direction. 

It  is  a  pity  that  men  like  Doctor  Fisher  could  not 
continue  to  live  on,  but  that,  of  course,  is  not  in  accor- 
dance with  the  plan  of  the  Omnipotent  Ruler  of  the 
universe.  We  come,  we  do  our  work,  and  we  pass 
on  to  receive  our  reward. 

As  a  leader  of  men  Doctor  Fisher  was  always  fore- 
most in  every  movement  for  the  advancement  of  the 
human  race.  We  all  mourn  his  passing  from  the  scene 
of  activity ;  and  yet  there  is  no  reason  why  we  should 


AN  APPRECIATION 


mourn  his  death,  because  it  is  just  as  natural  to  die  as 
it  is  to  live ;  and  rather  should  we  rejoice  that  God  gave 
him  life  that  others  might  profit  by  his  example.  His 
was  a  life  of  noble  deeds  and  personal  sacrifices  in 
behalf  of  his  people.  His  ambition  was  to  see  them 
elevated  to  a  plane  of  higher  usefulness.  He  worked 
to  prepare  their  minds,  hearts,  and  souls  for  the  ac- 
ceptance of  the  blessings  which  the  God  of  our  fathers 
continues  to  bestow  on  his  children  who  are  ready  and 
willing  to  receive  them. 

Doctor  Fisher's  life  was  one  continual  song  of 
praise.  He  radiated  happiness  everywhere.  His 
friends  will  always  be  happy  in  the  knowledge  that 
while  he  lived  he  sowed  the  seed  of  virtue,  patriotism, 
peace,  happiness,  and  good-will  among  men,  which 
will  continue  to  bear  fruit  for  all  time.  It  is  a  consola- 
tion to  know  that  the  world  is  better  for  Doctor 
Fisher  having  lived  and  that  his  separation  from  us 
is  but  temporary. 

Martin  B.  Madden, 
Congressman  from  Illinois. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Bound  and  Branded,  1858-1879 1 

II.  Loosed  on  the  Swan  Road,   1879- 

1 889  1 7 

III.  Sailing  Due  North,  1889-1901 31 

IV.  At  the  Coaling-station,  1901-1903...  47 
V.  The  Storm,  1903-1904 61 

VI.  The  Calm,  1904-1910 85 

VII.  On  Unknown  Seas,  1910-1912 109 

VIII.  Precious  Cargoes  from  Many  Ports, 

1912-1915 1 3 1 

IX.  Into  the  Harbor,  1915 151 

Appendix,  Olivet  Baptist  Church, 

1 9 1 5- 1 922 1 73 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

E.  J.  Fisher Frontispiece 

Florida  Fisher 14 

Mount  Olive  Baptist  Church,  Atlanta,  Georgia...     34 
The  Spruce  Street  Baptist  Church,  Nashville, 

Tennessee  52 

Young  Girls  Missionary  Circle,  Olivet  Baptist 

Church  92 

Grow!    Grotv!    Grorv!    Kindergarten  Children 

Getting  their  Daily  Milk 100 

Elijah  John  Fisher,  at  Sea 112 

Kindergarten,  Olivet  Baptist  Church 120 

Kindergarten    Closing,    Elizabeth    McCormick 

Fund  Exhibit / 28 

A  Group  of  Workers  of  the  Bethlehem  Associa- 
tion    136 

Children  of  the  Kindergarten  in  the  Olivet  Bus 142 

Elijah  John  Fisher 148 

Home  Care  of  the  Sick  Class,  Olivet  Baptist 

Church  / 58 

Boy  Scouts,  Olivet  Baptist  Church 168 

Lacey  Kirk   Williams,  D.  D.,  Pastor,   Olivet 

Baptist  Church,  Chicago 176 

Marching  from  Olivet  to  the  First  Church 180 

The  Olivet  Baptist  Church,  Thirty-first  Street  and 

South  Park  Avenue,  Chicago 188 


I 

BOUND  AND  BRANDED 

1858-1879 


BOUND  AND  BRANDED 
1858-1879 

Slavery  was  the  rule  in  beautiful  La  Grange,  a  small 
town,  among  the  red-clay  hills  of  Georgia.  Dr.  Robert 
Ridley,  a  physician,  tall  and  gray  and  stern,  was 
master  of  cotton-fields  and  human  souls.  Guardian 
magnolias  stood  watch  over  his  colonial  dwelling, 
which,  offset  by  an  escarpment  of  white  rocks,  was 
strikingly  contrasted  to  the  dilapidated  habitations  of 
slave  men  treading  their  mournful  way  from  the  cra- 
dle to  the  grave.  A  gulley  worn  by  the  weeping  of 
high  heaven  for  a  fettered  race,  and  meandering 
gently  from  yonder  hill,  served  the  purposes  of  drain- 
age and  walk  to  the  mud-chinked  cabins  along  "  slave 
row,"  where  the  household  of  "  Fisher  "  lived.  The 
hut  was  of  two  rooms,  bedecked  without  with  trellised 
primroses  and  within  with  whitewash.  Its  only  aper- 
ture was  a  door  of  logs,  cut  in  halves,  swung  on  leather 
hinges,  which  served  also  as  chimney  and  window.  In 
such  a  place  seventeen  children  and  their  parents  lived. 
Elijah  John  was  next  to  the  youngest  of  eight  boys. 
He  was  born  August  2,  1 858. 

His  mother,  Charlotte,  was  a  typical  slave  parent, 
giving  birth  to  twenty-one  children.  She  was  a  large 
brown  woman,  fully  six  feet  tall,  and  was  formerly 

3 


THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 


owned  by  Balton  Amos,  a  young  master,  who,  when 
his  wife  died,  gave  her  as  property  to  his  friend,  Doctor 
Ridley.  Her  eyes  were  small,  deep  set,  overshadowed 
by  narrow  eyebrows,  arched  and  black;  her  cheek- 
bones were  high  and  prominent,  and  her  mouth  was 
characteristic  of  her  posterity.  She  could  neither  read 
nor  write,  but  knew  instinctively  happy  truths.  She 
"  walked  with  God  "  hourly,  and  at  any  religious  ser- 
vice she  would  shout,  "  I'm  pure  gold  tried  in  the  fire." 
She  worked  incessantly  in  the  field,  humming,  singing, 
or  shouting  a  melody,  only  stopping  intermittently  to 
croon  the  plaintive  lullaby  to  her  accompanying  young : 

Going  to  tell  Aunt  Tabby, 
Going  to  tell  Aunt  Tabby, 
Old  gray  goose  is  dead. 

Her  mate,  Miles,  was  also  the  property  of  Doctor 
Ridley  through  purchase  from  Mr.  Fisher,  of  Vir- 
ginia. He  had  been  purchased  for  his  skill  as  a 
carpenter  and  was  generally  considered  a  good  work- 
man. He  was  a  stately,  broad,  smooth  black,  a  com- 
plement to  her  character.  He,  however,  was  a  sort  of 
lay  preacher  and  had  named  most  of  his  family  after 
Bible  characters  about  whom  he  had  heard  or  read 
time  and  again.  He  was  kind,  earnest,  and  faithful, 
the  spokesman  for  the  slaves  and  a  "  trusty  "  on  the 
plantation. 

There  is  no  reliable  knowledge  of  other  forebears 
beyond  perhaps  the  grandparents.    The  cause  of  this 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 


is  well  known.  Many  slaveholders  kept  the  ancestral 
records  of  certain  breeds  of  live  stock  but  never  that 
of  slaves,  primarily  because  the  worth  of  a  slave  de- 
pended less  upon  the  blood  of  his  forebears  than  did 
the  price  of  stock  upon  the  animal's  pedigree. 

Nevertheless,  Mr.  Fisher  delighted  to  trace  his 
ancestry  to  a  tribe  of  Zulus  in  Africa  over  which  one 
of  his  kin  was  chieftain.  We  may  be  sure,  however, 
of  his  parentage  while  a  member  of  Doctor  Ridley's 
household.  Charlotte's  father,  Markus,  married 
Nancy  "Amos"  (the  master's  name),  the  daughter 
of  Hannah  whose  father  was  a  Creek  Indian  with 
African  blood. 

According  to  the  customs  of  slavery  Miles  got  the 
consent  of  Doctor  Ridley  to  marry  Charlotte.  His 
acquiescence  was  equivalent  to  license  and  ceremony. 
True  enough,  such  a  union  was  not  a  creation  of  law, 
but  it  served  its  purpose  in  those  days  better  than  wed- 
ding-bells and  statutory  enactments  do  in  most  cases 
today.  However,  Miles  believed  in  ceremony,  so  he 
and  Charlotte  "  jumped  "  several  times  back  and  forth 
over  a  broom  repeating,  "  I  marry  you.'* 

Thus  they  were  married.  For  over  a  score  of  years 
they  lived  in  the  hut  beside  the  gully  of  tears,  lighten- 
ing each  other's  sorrows.  Strivings,  hopes,  and  prayers 
were  their  consolation.  Children  were  born.  Should 
they,  too,  forever  be  slaves?    God  forbid! 

At  this  very  time,  contention  and  protestation  by 
such    persons    as    Garrison,    Lundy,    Lovejoy,    and 


THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 


Phillips  against  a  system  which  was  gnawing  at  the 
vitals  of  home  and  society  was  at  its  height.  In  the 
halls  of  Congress,  Charles  Sumner  made  the  air  elec- 
tric with  anti-slavery  sentiment.  Greatly  influenced 
by  the  preaching  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  religious 
organizations  throughout  the  world  were  never  more 
zealous  than  in  the  crusade  against  the  pernicious  bar- 
gaining for  human  flesh.  Long  before  his  presidency, 
this  evil  had  come  to  the  attention  of  the  great  Lincoln. 
The  exigencies  of  civil  strife,  brought  to  a  climax  by 
the  defeat  of  General  Lee  at  Antietam,  broke  the  spell 
of  the  devil-nurtured  system  of  slavery.  Abraham 
Lincoln  spoke,  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  one 
among  the  four  millions  of  a  race  which  was  forever 
thereafter  to  be  recognized  as  human. 

The  story  of  freedom  became  a  sweet  memory  in 
the  life  of  Elijah.  The  Northern  soldiers  came 
through  the  South,  plundering  and  pillaging  the  plan- 
tations of  the  slaveholders  and  announcing  to  the  slaves 
their  freedom.  To  ward  off  plundering,  the  owner  of 
the  plantation  would  hang  up  a  white  sign  (usually  a 
sheet),  signifying  that  his  intention  toward  the  slave 
was  good  and  that  the  announcement  of  freedom  could 
be  made  at  any  time. 

It  was  the  summer  of  1863  when  the  Yankees 
reached  the  plantation  of  Doctor  Ridley.  The  day 
was  still  and  hot.  There  was  not  a  cloud  to  obstruct 
the  vision  of  the  azure  heavens.  The  leaves  on  the 
trees  stood  motionless.     Zephyrus  was  asleep.     The 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 


slaves  were  in  the  fields  chopping  the  cotton  and  chant- 
ing the  rhythm  of  the  day  as  a  testimony  to  the  drowsy 
overseer  that  they  were  doing  his  bidding.  "  Massah  " 
Ridley  was  on  the  porch  of  the  "  big  house  "  fast 
asleep.  The  Yankees  had  ridden  up  to  the  mansion, 
and  the  horses  put  their  hoofs  on  the  low  and  unrailed 
porch  as  if  at  home.  Doctor  Ridley  awakened 
quickly,  surprised,  startled,  bewildered,  perplexed,  a 
riot  of  color.  Some  words  passed  between  the  parties, 
and  then  one  of  the  soldiers  took  something  from  his 
pocket  and  read  it.  By  this  time  "  Missus  "  Ridley 
had  come  from  the  house.  She  too  heard  the  story 
and  saw  her  husband's  eyes  suffused  with  tears,  but 
said  not  a  v/ord.  Doctor  Ridley  was  trying  hard  to 
keep  the  tears  back.  He  summoned  Miles  and  spoke 
slowly  with  a  tear  in  his  voice : 

**  Miles,  call  all  the  niggers  together." 

The  slaves  did  not  know  the  meaning  of  Miles'  news 
to  them,  although  they  had  heard  rumors  that  they 
should  sometime  be  free.  Few  could  read,  and  none 
had  access  to  newspapers.  As  they  left  the  field  they 
wondered  who  was  to  be  whipped  or  who  was  to  be 
sold  or  what  orders  were  to  be  given.  Half-startled, 
half-afraid,  they  wended  their  way  through  the  fields 
in  one  silent  mass  of  praying  creatures.  On  seeing  the 
Yankees  they  started  back,  but  "  Massah  "  Ridley 
beckoned. 

The  master  was  weeping  bitterly.  Finally  he 
sobbed,  "  I  called  you  together,  Miles "  then  he 


8 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

stopped.  His  words  were  stifled  with  sobs.  The 
slaves  were  awe-stricken;  they  had  never  seen  a  white 
man  cry.  Only  slaves  had  tears,  they  thought.  All 
eyes  were  fastened  on  Doctor  Ridley.  He  was  say- 
ing something.  "  All  you  niggers — all  you  niggers  are 
free  as  I  am."  The  surprise  was  shocking,  but  in  an 
instant  in  his  usual  harsh  voice  he  added : 

"  But  there  ain't  going  to  be  any  rejoicing  here. 
Stay  here  until  the  crop  is  made,  and  I'll  give  you 
provisions.    Go  back  to  work." 

But  the  slaves  did  rejoice  and  loudly,  too.  Some 
cried ;  some  jumped  up  and  cracked  their  heels.  Char- 
lotte took  her  younger  children  in  her  asms  and  shouted 
all  over  the  plantation : 

"  Chillun,  didn't  I  tell  you  God  'ould  answer 
prayer?  " 

There  is  hardly  any  way  to  make  real  the  almost 
unbelievable  announcement  of  freedom.  Many  of 
the  freedmen  immediately  left  the  plantation;  others 
stayed  and  worked  until  they  were  materially  able 
to  earn  a  livelihood.  Miles  and  Charlotte  were  among 
this  last  group. 

They  did  make  one  change,  however.  All  of  their 
relatives  took  for  their  surname,  Amos ;  and  Miles  and 
Charlotte  would  have  taken  Ridley,  but  their  former 
master  was  so  heartless  that  they  assumed  the  surname 
Fisher,  after  Miles'  Virginia  master. 

Miles  and  Charlotte  worked  for  Doctor  Ridley  until 
the  summer  of  1864  when  they  began  life  anew  on  a 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 


farm  of  forty-eight  acres,  upon  which  they  had  made 
an  initial  payment  to  their  former  master.  They  con- 
tinued devout  Christians,  bringing  up  their  children 
in  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  Religion  was  as  much  intui- 
tive to  the  slave  as  Christianity  was  to  Miles.  He 
often  supplied  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  La  Grange 
as  minister.  He  was  not  an  eloquent  or  learned  man, 
and  when  he  preached  the  attendance  was  usually 
small.  Probably  he  never  preached  from  the  rostrum, 
but  as  a  "  floor  preacher  "  he  presented  the  story  of 
the  Cross  as  best  he  could. 

The  colored  congregation  at  La  Grange  was  pecu- 
liar for  one  thing — no  licentiate  was  allowed  on  the 
rostrum,  and  this  attitude  accounted  for  "  floor  preach- 
ers." They  had  no  church  house  of  their  own,  but 
met  in  the  white  church  after  morning  worship;  there 
were  no  night  services.  In  the  summertime,  the  Negro 
members  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  met  in  the  sol- 
diers' graveyard  under  a  "  brush  arbor  "  made  by 
suspending  beams  across  the  aisle  of  trees  and  strew- 
ing the  tops  with  pine  boughs. 

"  Floor  preaching  "  was  embarrassing,  but  it  did  not 
check  the  zeal  of  Miles  for  souls.  He  continued  his 
life  of  farming  through  the  week,  preaching  when  he 
could. 

His  life  had  a  direct  Christian  bearing  upon  his 
family,  for  he  began  at  home  the  lessons  which  he 
preached  abroad.  As  a  result,  all  of  his  children  ac- 
cepted Christ  at  an  early  age. 


10   THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

During  slavery,  Elijah  John  was  hired  by  his  master 
to  the  Reverend  Abner  R.  Callaway,  as  a  companion 
to  his  crippled  son,  Sumner,  who  was  three  years  the 
senior  of  Elijah.  They,  unaware  of  the  distinctions 
of  caste  and  color  taught  by  parents,  played  together 
and  strove  just  as  all  children  do  in  the  feverish  pranks 
of  boys.  Sumner  knew  many  Bible  stories  and  took 
great  delight  in  telling  them  to  his  little  mate.  These 
messages  of  light  had  a  beneficent  effect  upon  Elijah 
for,  after  Sumner  passed  into  the  kingdom  of  childlike 
innocence,  and  after  Elijah  subsequently  returned  to 
Master  Ridley,  Elijah  John  said  that  he  loved  Sum- 
ner's Master  and  voluntarily  accepted  his  brand.  He 
gave  evidence  of  being  converted. 

Undoubtedly,  there  was  a  value  in  the  early  re- 
ligious instruction  of  Elijah.  Nevertheless,  many  older 
Christians  could  not  quite  realize  that  a  person  so 
young  could  endure  the  brand  of  an  exacting  Master, 
and  it  was  a  much  discussed  question  as  to  whether 
Elijah  John  should  become  one  of  the  flock  or  remain 
a  maverick.  If  the  brand  of  divine  truth  was  not  yet 
impressed  on  Elijah's  heart,  certainly  it  was  laid  on  the 
surface  so  that  the  Spirit  had  only  to  press  it  down  to 
make  it  at  once  the  emblem  of  new  life.  Accordingly, 
he  was  baptized,  October  19,  1863,  by  the  Reverend 
Abner  R.  Callaway,  into  the  fellowship  of  the  La 
Grange  church,  of  which  Dr.  David  Benedict,  the 
Baptist  historian,  said,  "  This  is  one  of  the  most  effi- 
cient churches  in  western  Georgia." 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 11 

Elijah  John  Fisher  demonstrated  his  profession  by 
the  life  he  lived  from  childhood.  He  is  said  to  have 
shown  propensities  for  the  calling  both  of  minister  and 
undertaker  in  these  early  days.  Whenever  any  animal 
would  die  on  the  farm,  Elijah  would  lead  the  boys 
out  to  a  little  service  and  then  inter  the  carcass. 
Deacon  Marchman  of  the  First  Colored  Baptist 
Church  of  La  Grange,  who  grew  up  with  Elijah  from 
earliest  boyhood,  says : 

"  Fisher  served  his  parents  well.  He  was  a  consis- 
tent Christian  boy.  I  never  knew  him  to  do  anything 
wrong.  When  we  fellows  would  go  to  a  dance,  Fisher 
wouldn't  dance.  He  never  used  tobacco  and  was 
bitterly  opposed  to  whisky." 

By  1874,  Miles  paid  the  last  dollar  on  his  farm, 
which  had  furnished  a  home  for  his  wife,  Charlotte, 
his  seventeen  children,  and  his  sisters-in-law,  Jane  and 
Sissey.  Just  when  he  was  able  to  rest  from  his  labors, 
he  was  taken  ill,  and  in  the  spring  of  1875  he  died. 

There  was  one  request  that  Miles  made  on  his 
death-bed,  after  he  had  called  his  family  around  him, 
and  that  was  for  Elijah  to  take  care  of  Charlotte  and 
the  farm.  Although  Elijah  was  only  seventeen  years 
old,  he  had  shown  ability  in  dealing  with  the  business 
of  the  farm.  Each  child  had  an  equal  portion  of  the 
farm  for  his  inheritance,  and  all  were  to  contribute  to 
the  support  of  their  mother  and  her  sisters. 

However,  farm  life  appealed  less  and  less  to  all 
except  Elijah.  He  contracted  to  buy  the  inheritances 
c 


\2 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

of  the  other  children  and  assumed  the  care  of  his 
mother.  He  was  able  the  first  year  to  raise  four  or  five 
bales  of  cotton  and  several  hundred  bushels  of  corn 
and  potatoes.  During  the  winter  months  and  after  the 
planting  season,  he  had  an  opportunity  to  attend  a 
school  conducted  by  Mr.  Danny  McGee,  one  of  the 
many  slave  Negroes  who  had  learned  to  read  and  to 
write  because  of  intimate  association  in  the  house  of 
the  slave  owner. 

The  schoolhouse  was  a  dilapidated  log  hut,  past 
usefulness  as  a  cabin,  with  one  door  and  no  windows. 
The  logs  stretched  in  front  of  the  hearth  served  as 
both  seats  and  desks.  Here  Professor  McGee — yes, 
"  Fessor,"  because  any  one  who  knew  anything  was 
termed  professor  and  the  misnomer  has  become  tra- 
ditional in  all  Negro  schools — was  master.  Mr.  Mc- 
Gee charged  each  student  a  dollar  a  month  for  tuition 
and  in  turn  dispensed  "  mathematics,  science,  and  phi- 
losophy "  found  in  the  famous  old  "  Blue-back  Spel- 
ler." Elijah  stayed  one  month  at  this  school,  but 
urgent  work  needed  on  the  farm  brought  his  educa- 
tional career  speedily  to  a  close. 

After  planting  season,  he  went  back  to  school  for 
another  month.  Mr.  Tolston,  a  Christian  white  man, 
who  along  with  others  enlisted  in  a  missionary  enter- 
prise which  meant  only  hard  work,  prejudice,  and 
ostracism  to  themselves,  but  which  inspired  the  Negro 
to  noble  attainments  in  art,  science,  invention,  litera- 
ture, and  religion,  was  teacher.    At  this  school  Elijah 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER  13 

made  marked  progress  and  could  spell  readily  the  dis- 
syllable 1-a  (lay),  d-y  (dee),  lady. 

Unwittingly,  the  Reverend  Anthony  Williams,  the 
Negro  pastor  of  the  First  Colored  Baptist  Church, 
made  a  slighting  remark  concerning  Miles  as  a  "  floor 
preacher."  This  greatly  fired  the  passion  of  Miles' 
son,  Henry,  who  was  leader  of  the  choir,  and  on 
Monday  he  and  Miles  II  met  Pastor  Williams  and 
thrashed  him  sorely.  They  were  apprehended  and 
to  save  them  from  prison,  Elijah  had  to  forfeit  all  of 
his  cotton,  corn,  and  potatoes  as  a  penalty  for  their 
misdemeanor. 

This  incident  was  discouraging  to  Elijah.  He  had 
nothing  to  go  upon  for  that  year.  Immediately,  he 
bargained  to  sell  the  farm  and  in  1 876  made  the  sale 
to  Mr.  B.  Edmondson.  Mr.  Fisher  thereupon  sought 
employment  in  Anniston,  Alabama,  a  mining-town 
about  forty-five  miles  distant. 

Setting  out  on  foot  one  Sunday  morning,  he  arrived 
in  Anniston  on  Tuesday  and  much  to  his  delight  found 
employment  in  the  coal-mines  at  fifty  cents  a  day. 
Elijah  was  just  nineteen  years  old,  but  was  large  for 
his  age.  He  was  tall  and  robust,  and  as  he  walked 
the  streets  he  carried  himself  as  erect  as  a  soldier  and 
as  proudly  as  a  peacock.  It  was  often  remarked  that 
Elijah  was  the  proudest  Negro  that  walked  the  streets 
of  La  Grange,  Georgia,  or  Anniston,  Alabama. 

Previous  to  his  employment  in  Anniston,  Elijah, 
in  1 875,  met  a  maid  of  sixteen  summers  who  charmed 


]4 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

him  as  did  no  one  else.  Florida  Neely  was  a  copper- 
colored  girl  with  jet-black  hair  and  pronounced  fea- 
tures, embracing  characteristics  which  were  decidedly 
Indian,  Caucasian,  and  Negro. 

The  Neely  family  had  come  to  La  Grange  from 
Randolph  County,  Alabama,  when  Florida  was  eight 
years  old.  Until  she  reached  her  twelfth  birthday  she 
had  worked  in  the  field  for  Mr.  Thompson,  first  carry- 
ing water  and  then  hoeing.  Afterward,  she  worked 
in  the  home  of  Colonel  Charles  Maibrie  as  servant  and, 
being  quick  to  learn,  began  knitting  for  five  dollars  a 
month.  Florida  did  this  for  three  years,  after  which 
time  she  received  an  increase  of  a  dollar  a  month.  It 
was  while  working  there  as  a  knitter  that  she  met 
Elijah  Fisher. 

Florida  Neely  was  an  inspiration  from  the  start  to 
Mr.  Fisher.  He  would  walk  to  Anniston  each  month 
and  walk  back  to  see  his  fiancee.  She  described  his 
jaunts  in  later  life,  remarking  that  on  every  trip  his 
feet  would  be  blistered  and  that  often  she  assisted  him 
in  washing  them  and  greasing  them  with  mutton-suet. 

While  in  Anniston,  Mr.  Fisher'  and  Miss  Neely  cor- 
responded freely,  although  both  had  not  had  three 
month's  schooling  combined.  Mr.  Fisher's  foreman 
and  Miss  Neely 's  mistress  wrote  the  love-letters  of 
their  employees,  and  though  it  took  each  party  a  long 
time  to  decipher  the  messages,  the  missives  had  their 
effect.  On  September  25,  1877,  Elijah  John  Fisher 
and  Florida  Neely  were  married  at  the  First  Baptist 


&Jl(AMLt)u  ^^Sl^v^^o--- 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 15 

Church  of  La  Grange,  Georgia,  by  the  Reverend 
Martin  E.  Hardin. 

The  night  of  the  marriage  ceremony  was  full  of 
uncommon  happenings  that  might  interest  the  reader. 
Pink,  Elijah's  sister,  was  engaged  to  Mr.  Edward  Mc- 
Farland  and  had  planned  to  have  her  wedding  one 
hour  earlier  than  the  Neely-Fisher  ceremony.  At  the 
church  Miss  Neely  learned  that  Miss  Pink  Fisher  had 
not  married  and  that  she  was  waiting  to  have  a  double 
wedding.  All  was  ready  and  the  church  was  there  in 
full  to  witness  the  ceremony.  Miss  Fisher  had  no 
bridesmaids  and  so  the  wonderful  advantage  of 
'  Two-in-One  "  was  discovered.  Florida's  brides- 
maids went  in  first,  then  Pink  and  Mr.  McFarland  and 
Florida  and  Mr.  Fisher.  The  people  were  surprised 
that  Florida  Neely  had  no  bridesmaids.  Truly 
"  things  are  not  always  what  they  seem,"  and  to  add 
to  the  embarrassment  all  the  bridal  party  went  to 
Florida  Fisher's  house  for  dinner. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fisher  continued  their  home  in  La 
Grange  although  he  worked  in  the  mines  six  months 
longer. 

Anniston  was  becoming  more  and  more  civilized. 
During  the  first  days  of  Mr.  Fisher's  employment,  An- 
niston was  a  typical  mining-town.  Lewd  women  and 
liquor  were  the  rule.  It  was  rumored  that  few  re- 
spectable women  lived  in  the  town.  Mr.  Fisher  car- 
ried himself  in  such  a  way  as  to  gain  the  respect  of  all 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 


J6 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

As  Anniston  emerged  into  the  light  of  culture,  many 
prominent  families  moved  there,  and  Mr.  Fisher's 
character  and  manliness  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
leading  white  citizens.  Colonel  A.  T.  Tyler  gave  him 
employment  in  his  residence  as  butler.  This  position 
in  a  home  where  men  of  clean  estate  walked  on  downy 
carpets,  was  quite  a  contrast  to  the  darkness  of  the 
mines  where  dust  and  dirt  and  floors  of  hardened  earth 
were  the  surroundings  of  a  grim  mass  of  humanity. 
Mr.  Fisher  toiled  for  Colonel  Tyler  nearly  a  year. 

During  the  dull  season  he  studied  grammar  and 
arithmetic  under  Dr.  J.  T.  Roberts  and  Dr.  D.  Shaver 
at  the  Atlanta  Baptist  Seminary.  While  at  this  school, 
where  the  atmosphere  had  the  savor  of  religious  fervor, 
his  call  to  preach  was  made  clear.  However,  he  re- 
turned to  Anniston  to  resume  his  former  work.  He 
had  been  licensed  to  preach,  in  1 879,  by  his  church  in 
La  Grange,  but  he  did  not  want  to  do  the  job.  He 
tried  to  suppress  the  Spirit's  call  by  teaching  a  coun- 
try school. 

Finding  out  that  his  school  was  growing,  he  finally 
gave  himself  solely  to  teaching.  From  each  child  he 
received  ten  cents  a  month,  and  this  sum  with  his  salary 
and  with  what  his  thrifty  wife  received  was  enough  for 
their  upkeep. 


II 

LOOSED  ON  THE  SWAN  ROAD 
1879-1889 


LOOSED  ON  THE  SWAN  ROAD 
1879-1889 

Mr.  Fisher  resolved  to  become  an  educated  man ;  his 
wife  had  no  objection.  She  was  working  at  what  then 
seemed  a  splendid  position,  making  six  dollars  a 
month,  and  out  of  that  sum  had  saved  over  a  hundred 
dollars.  Mr.  Fisher  had  saved  more.  Before  leaving 
for  school,  Mrs.  Fisher  requested  him  to  put  their 
money  in  the  bank.  This  he  did  but  in  his  own  name. 
When  his  wife  went  to  draw  seventy-five  dollars  to 
purchase  three-fourths  of  an  acre  for  her  mother,  she 
found  that  no  money  could  be  drawn  without  her  hus- 
band's signature.  Thereupon,  she  wrote  him  in  At- 
lanta for  his  permission  to  make  the  withdrawal. 

In  the  meantime,  he  had  been  solicited  for  a  school 
at  Long  Cane,  Georgia,  and  this  was  a  good  opportu- 
nity to  go  and  make  arrangements.  The  agent  for 
the  property  suggested  that  since  Mr.  Fisher  was  home, 
it  would  be  better  for  him  to  complete  the  transaction 
with  Colonel  Blum.  Mr.  Fisher  desired  to  pay  only 
half  down  for  the  lot  and  planned  to  make  a  payment 
toward  the  building  of  a  house  with  the  other  half. 
All  the  framework  of  the  building  was  constructed  by 
the  first  of  April,  and  Mr.  Fisher  went  on  top  to  put 
on  the  roof. 

19 


20 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

His  wife  saw  him  thus  working  and  exclaimed  in 
her  consternation,  "  Don't  you  know  that  it  is  bad 
luck  to  work  on  your  own  house?  " 

Superstition  still  had  sway.  Luck,  its  protege,  was 
swaying  the  destinies  of  ex-slaves  and  freemen  and,  as 
Cardinal  Mazarin  and  Rothschild  seem  to  think,  is  the 
guiding  star  of  worldly  success  and  sways  the  desti- 
nies of  men  of  all  rank. 

Mrs.  Fisher  was  no  exception  to  the  use  of  this 
euphemism  for  every  act  of  divine  Providence. 

On  April  3,  1880,  Mr.  Fisher  boarded  the  At- 
lanta and  West  Point  train  for  Long  Cane  to  make 
final  arrangements  for  his  school  and  to  preach  in  West 
Point  on  Sunday.  He  reached  Long  Cane  and  made 
all  arrangements  to  teach  the  school  and  intended  to 
catch  the  train  in  the  afternoon.  At  such  a  town  as 
Long  Cane,  trains  "  stop  on  signal  only  "  and  then 
stop  still  only  for  women.  He  was  staying  in  the 
Negro  settlement  near  the  swirl  and  smoke  of  the  noisy 
railroad.  When  he  heard  the  blowing  whistle  of  the 
train,  with  valise  in  one  hand  and  light  coat  over  the 
other  that  held  an  umbrella,  he  set  out  in  a  hurry  for 
the  depot.  The  engineer  saw  him,  but  since  he  was  a 
man,  and  a  black  one  at  that,  the  train  simply  slowed 
up  enough  to  let  the  only  passenger  aboard. 

As  Mr.  Fisher  got  on  to  the  step,  his  overcoat 
caught,  and  the  moving  monster  threw  him  on  the  track. 
He  thought  to  raise  his  right  leg  thereby  saving  it  from 
being  severed.    But  it  is  strange  how  the  train  acted  as 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 2[ 

a  skilled  surgeon,  amputating  his  left  leg  about  a  foot 
above  the  knee,  also  his  second  toe  on  his  right  foot  and 
his  third  finger  on  his  right  hand ;  and  it  is  stranger  still 
how  Mr.  Fisher  lived  through  the  suffering  and  agony 
of  such  a  misfortune,  from  Long  Cane  to  West  Point, 
a  distance  of  ten  miles.  There  he  received  medical  at- 
tention and,  without  anesthetics,  allowed  his  leg  to  be 
cut  farther  up  and  his  other  wounds  to  be  dressed. 

The  crisis  had  come.  What  was  he  to  do?  The 
Negro  was  not  a  man  in  the  South,  therefore  a  suit 
against  the  company  would  have  been  futile.  No 
Negro  lawyer  dared  take  such  a  case,  and  all  white 
lawyers  wouldn't.  Should  he  get  well,  was  there  any- 
thing a  one-legged  Negro  could  do?  What  of  his 
wife? 

Such  an  accident  would  have  dampened  the  ardor 
of  most  men,  especially  young  ones,  but  not  so  with 
men  who  do  the  things  immortal.  Marvelous  have 
been  the  endeavors  of  near-sighted  Paul ;  of  the  blind 
Milton  and  "Blind  Tom";  of  frail  Channing;  of 
club-foot  Byron;  of  the  frail  youth  Roosevelt;  of  the 
consumptive  Keats  and  Paul  Laurence  Dunbar;  of 
lame  Talleyrand;  of  hunchback  Pope;  of  diseased 
Johnson,  and  epileptic  Julius  Caesar.  Many  a  being 
has  found  in  his  misfortune,  as  Bacon  long  ago  said, 
"  a  perpetual  spur  to  rescue  and  deliver  him  from 
scorn."    It  is  not  to  be  denied  with  Shakespeare  that 

It  is  not  in  our  stars, 
But  in  ourselves,  that  we  are  underlings. 


22 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

The  news  of  the  accident  was  wired  to  his  mother 
and  mother-in-law,  but  not  to  his  wife,  for  she  was  soon 
to  be  a  mother.  Groups  could  be  seen  over  La  Grange 
talking  about  the  terrible  happening  at  Long  Cane. 
Mrs.  Fisher  felt  that  something  was  wrong. 

"  I  could  not  sleep  Saturday  night,"  she  said.  "  In 
the  wee  hours  of  the  night  I  was  disturbed  in  a  dream. 
I  saw  Mr.  Fisher  lying  on  a  gray  dray,  and  blood  was 
dripping  on  the  ground.  I  immediately  awakened  and 
went  to  Aunt  Sally  (no  relation,  but  a  usual  form  of 
salutation)  the  next  morning." 

On  seeing  Florida,  Aunt  Sally  began :  "  Child,  I 
had  a  dream  about  you  last  night.  Somethin's  going 
to  happen." 

Trying  to  forestall  the  interpreter,  Mrs.  Fisher  re- 
plied, "  Oh,  no,  Aunt  Sally !  " 

The  thought  haunted  both,  and  as  Florida  went  to 
prepare  breakfast  she  was  perturbed  with  the  fear 
that  Mr.  Fisher  was  harmed  but  hoped  for  the  best. 
She  tried  as  best  she  could  to  efface  the  last  vestiges  of 
superstition,  but,  as  with  people  of  our  day,  there  was 
a  dread  of  having  the  ante-bellum  Negro  prophesy 
ill-fortune,  for  invariably  bad  results  seem  to  follow. 

The  day  passed  as  usual.  At  supper  the  news  had 
reached  Mrs.  Maibrie — still  Mrs.  Fisher  did  not 
know.  Mrs.  Maibrie  had  intimated  that  on  tomorrow 
Florida  had  better  take  down  her  curtains  and  give 
her  room  a  thorough  cleaning,  the  mistress  thinking  that 
Mr.  Fisher  would  be  brought  home.    Then,  too,  there 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 23 

was  a  peculiar  look  on  the  faces  of  all  the  servants  at 
supper.    All  of  this  added  to  Florida's  suspicion. 

Monday  after  breakfast  as  she  was  taking  down  the 
curtains  she  looked  around  and  saw  her  mother  in  the 
doorway  crying.  The  message  was  broken  gently,  but 
poor  Florida  fainted.  She  was  several  days  gaining 
her  strength,  but  as  soon  as  possible  was  on  her  way  to 
West  Point  to  see  her  husband. 

At  this  juncture  friends  were  needed.  Mr.  Fisher 
had  so  lived  that  both  white  and  colored  saw  to  it 
that  he  and  his  wife  should  not  need.  Gertrude  Lil- 
lian was  born  six  weeks  later,  May  1 6,  1 880,  and  at 
that  time  Mr.  Fisher  was  able  to  get  around.  The 
future  left  little  hope  for  his  mate  and  himself. 

"  Suppose,  Florida,  you  go  to  your  folks  and  I  to 
mine,"  he  said. 

"  Mr.  Fisher  [for  that  is  what  she  always  called 
him],  if  I  have  a  crust  of  bread,  one-half  shall  be 
yours." 

There  is  a  bit  of  philosophy  in  this  simplicity  of  love. 
It  was  not  as  lyric  as  the  great  love  scenes  recorded  by 
sacred  and  profane  writers,  but  it  was  as  genuine  and 
as  warm  as  any  heart-throbs  that  pulsated  between 
Damon  and  Pythias,  Jonathan  and  David,  and  Ruth 
and  Naomi.  Elijah  John  Fisher  was  a  brave  man 
struggling  in  the  storm  of  that  inexorable  Spirit  which 
sways  the  destinies  of  both  gods  and  men. 

Life  had  to  be  started  over  again.  Florida  se- 
cured a  position  as  a  washerwoman,  and  Elijah  was 


24 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

allowed  to  teach  in  one  of  the  county  schools  of  La 
Grange. 

Every  Monday  friends  would  come  after  him  in  a 
buggy  and  take  him  across  La  Grange  to  the  West 
Side  where  he  taught.  He  stayed  at  the  residence  of 
Mrs.  Gordon,  formerly  a  slave  of  the  well-known 
General  Gordon,  on  Hamilton  Road,  and  had  the 
pleasure  of  teaching  all  of  her  children.  During  these 
days  (on  April  11,  1881),  Miss  Sophia  B.  Packard 
and  Miss  Harriet  E.  Giles  had  come  from  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  under  a  commission  from  the  Woman's 
American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society,  and  had 
established  a  school,  known  today  as  Spelman  Semi- 
nary, for  the  elevation  of  Negro  girls  and  women,  in 
the  basement  of  the  Friendship  Baptist  Church,  At- 
lanta, Georgia.  They  were  offering  free  education  to 
deserving  girls  that  could  be  recommended.  Mr. 
Fisher  recommended  Nora  Gordon  from  his  school 
who,  when  she  completed  her  course  at  Spelman  Semi- 
nary, sailed  in  1889,  with  Miss  Clara  Howard,  as  a 
missionary  to  Africa. 

The  school  of  Mr.  Fisher  was  above  the  average 
and  paid  fifty  dollars  a  month.  The  session  lasted 
only  through  the  months  of  June,  July,  and  August 
when  the  pupils  were  less  needed  on  the  farms.  In 
addition  to  the  salary  paid  by  the  county,  each  pupil 
paid  ten  cents  a  month.  A  good  livelihood  could 
thereby  be  gotten,  since  his  pupils  numbered  at  least 
seventy-five. 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 25 

The  colored  people  of  La  Grange  thought  the  term 
of  the  school  too  short,  so  they  extended  it  and  sup- 
ported the  principal  five  months  longer.  This  Inde- 
pendent School,  as  it  was  called,  met  for  its  extra  ses- 
sion in  the  colored  Baptist  church.  As  in  the  county 
school,  each  pupil  was  supposed  to  bring  ten  cents  a 
month;  many  increased  their  tuition  to  twenty-five 
cents.  The  school  grew  to  such  large  proportions  that 
an  assistant  teacher,  Miss  Salena  Sloan  (now  Mrs. 
H.  R.  Butler),  had  to  be  employed,  and  the  name 
was  subsequently  changed  to  the  La  Grange  Baptist 
Seminary.  Mr.  Fisher  remained  principal  during  most 
of  his  residence  in  La  Grange,  until,  at  least,  other 
duties  drew  too  heavily  upon  his  time.  The  Seminary 
is  today  one  of  the  two  colored  city  schools  of  La 
Grange  and  has  ever  been  guided  by  an  alumnus  of  the 
Atlanta  Baptist  Seminary  (now  Morehouse  College). 

Through  it  all,  Mr.  Fisher  began  to  reflect  seriously 
upon  the  accident.  People  were  saying  by  the  life 
he  was  living  that  he  was  certainly  a  good  Christian. 
But  why  should  he  be  so  afflicted?  This  query  is  the 
riddle  of  the  ages,  only  partially  answered  by  the  tale 
of  the  nations.  God  has  a  work  for  men  and  nations 
to  perform,  and  when  they  refuse  he  breaks  them  on 
the  wheel,  but  his  work  must  go  on.  Elijah  John 
Fisher  resigned  his  will  to  God.  He  desired  to  do 
his  biddings ;  it  was  his  duty  to  do  his  work.  He  con- 
ducted prayer  services  in  the  neighboring  villages.  His 
voice  in  song  was  indicative  of  other  gifts  within.    Men 


26 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

and  women  were  called  to  the  ranks  of  service  by  the 
gospel  of  his  singing.  He  knew  full  well  that  it  was 
not  in  his  power  to  convert,  but  that  he  was  used  of 
Jehovah.  More  and  more  did  he  desire  to  devote  his 
entire  time  to  such  endeavors. 

Mr.  Fisher's  first  church  was  in  the  country  at 
Threats  Grove,  Troup  County,  Troup  Factory,  Geor- 
gia. The  members  would  come  after  him  in  a  buggy 
every  Saturday,  and  he  with  them  would  journey  to 
the  settlement  some  seven  miles  distant.  This  congre- 
gation was  unable  to  pay  very  much  money,  but  the 
abundance  of  corn,  potatoes,  chickens,  butter,  and 
syrup  insured  him  a  good  living. 

With  very  little  preparation  and  physically  handi- 
capped, Mr.  Fisher  stepped  from  the  butlery  to  the 
schoolroom,  from  the  schoolroom  to  the  pulpit,  from 
the  humblest  to  the  highest  pursuits,  and  was  ordained, 
May  10,  1882,  by  Rev.  E.  R.  Carter,  Rev.  C.  T. 
Walker,  Rev.  D.  J.  Wimbish,  Rev.  J.  A.  Walker, 
and  Rev.  P.  M.  Mobley. 

According  to  the  times,  a  good  shepherd  was  always 
the  overseer  of  from  two  to  six  churches  which  he 
visited  in  their  turn.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the  con- 
tempory  churches  which  Pastor  Fisher  served. 

Macedonia  Baptist  Church  was  located  about  four 
miles  from  La  Grange  on  land  that  had  belonged  to 
Doctor  Ridley.  He  remained  there  two  years,  adding 
ninety-five  souls  to  the  membership  and  building  them 
a  substantial  house  of  worship. 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 27 

At  the  same  time,  he  was  pastor  of  the  Mount  Zion 
Baptist  Church,  Whitefield  Crossing,  now  Louise, 
Georgia.  Mount  Zion  was  considered  a  good 
church  with  about  a  hundred  members  who  were  able 
to  pay  their  pastor  the  fabulous  sum  of  three  hundred 
dollars  a  year. 

His  family  had  increased  during  these  days  to  four : 
Gertrude  Lillian,  Shepherd  Mattie,  Elijah  John,  Jr., 
and  James  Edward.  His  wife  thought  it  a  pity  that 
he  should  play  the  role  of  a  mere  exhorter.  Her  con- 
ception of  a  minister  was  based  largely  on  the  preach- 
ing she  had  heard  at  the  First  Colored  Baptist  Church 
in  La  Grange.  There  the  minister  would  momentarily 
disappear  behind  the  pulpit  and  spring  up  spasmodi- 
cally, shouting  some  sort  of  unintelligible  whoop  which 
would  throw  his  mourners  into  pandemonium.  Such 
tactics  had  contributed  largely  to  the  formation  of  a 
colored  Baptist  church  in  the  town  as  a  necessary  move 
by  the  white  people  to  get  rid  of  that  frenzied  worship. 
Accordingly,  in  the  early  years  of  her  husband's  min- 
istry, Mrs.  Fisher  did  not  go  to  hear  him  preach,  but 
stayed  at  home  and  admonished  him  against  being  a 
"  jack-legged  "  preacher. 

Such  admonition  had  its  effect.  Pastor  Fisher  also 
believed  that  representatives  of  the  highest  moral  and 
spiritual  affairs  should  personify  the  noblest  character 
and  the  highest  intellectuality.  He  believed,  further, 
that  the  more  unprepared  the  people  the  more  prepared 
ought  to  be  their  leaders.  But  he  also  believed  that  a 
D 


28 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

religion  that  could  not  be  felt  was  no  religion  and  a 
discourse  that  appealed  only  to  the  intellect  and  did 
not  pull  on  the  heart-strings  was  not  a  sermon. 

He  was  signally  honored  by  being  chosen  Assistant 
Secretary  of  the  Missionary  Baptist  Convention  of 
Georgia,  and  Moderator  of  the  Western  Union  Asso- 
ciation in  its  twelfth  annual  session  at  Grantville, 
Georgia,  in  1885.  During  his  administration,  a  Sun- 
day School  Convention  was  organized  and  made  auxil- 
iary to  the  parent  body ;  the  La  Grange  Baptist  Semi- 
nary was  supported.  His  work  for  his  term  of  office, 
which  was  two  years,  contributed  largely  to  his  future 
success. 

Soon,  it  became  a  matter  of  observation  that  the 
churches  that  secured  the  services  of  Mr.  Fisher  were 
beginning  to  enjoy  a  degree  of  prosperity  unprece- 
dented. His  ministry  was  the  theme  of  general  com- 
ment all  through  North  Georgia.  God  was  with  him 
and  through  him  was  doing  a  good  work. 

In  the  autumn  of  1883  he  was  also  called  to  the 
pastorate  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  Anniston, 
Alabama.  He  resigned  the  churches  at  Threats 
Grove  and  Macedonia,  but  the  Mount  Zion  Church 
at  Whitefield  Crossing  would  not  accept  his  resigna- 
tion. The  members  there  clung  to  him  as  pastor,  al- 
though he  preached  for  them  only  one  Sunday  in  each 
month.    He  also  built  a  church  house  for  them. 

He  found  the  people  of  Anniston  laboring  under  a 
heavy  debt  which  he  completely  liquidated.    Accord- 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER      29 

ing  to  Dr.  E.  R.  Carter,  in  "  Our  Pulpit  Illustrated," 
he  solicited  in  two  years'  time  over  forty  thousand  dol- 
lars for  a  new  church  home.  He  was  elected  Presi- 
dent of  the  Sunday  School  Convention  of  Northeast 
Alabama  and  Moderator  of  the  Rushing  Spring  Asso- 
ciation of  the  same  State.  During  all  of  these  early 
pastorates  he  lived  in  La  Grange,  Georgia. 

An  incident  out  of  the  ordinary  happened  in  that 
city.  He  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  First 
Colored  Baptist  Church,  of  which  he  had  been  a  mem- 
ber twenty-four  years.  This  congregation  demanded 
all  of  his  time,  for  it  had  grown  to  three  hundred  mem- 
bers and  was  noted  for  its  list  of  famous  preachers,  in- 
cluding Elders  Anthony  Williams,  Charles  T. 
Walker,  Charles  H.  Brightharp,  and  Collins  H. 
Lyons.  Mr.  Fisher  had  won  the  hearts  of  the  people 
of  La  Grange  by  his  consistent  Christian  bearing;  his 
integrity  had  never  been  questioned. 

His  five  children  were  taught  a  strict  obedience  to 
parents.  At  church,  they  took  an  accustomed  seat 
on  the  second  row,  and  when  they  were  restless  or 
discontented  a  glance  from  the  rostrum  was  enough  to 
straighten  out  the  most  troubled  countenance,  for  all 
knew  that  at  home  he  did  not  spare  the  rod. 

A  look  into  the  parsonage  will  show  how  his  wife 
made  his  starvation  hire  meet  all  needs  quite  well.  It 
is  no  wonder  that  in  patchwork  she  was  most  adept 
and  with  dexterity  could  "  make  aid  clathes  look  al- 
most as  weel's  the  new." 


Ill 

SAILING  DUE  NORTH 

1889-1901 


SAILING  DUE  NORTH 
1889-1901 

Larger  opportunities  for  service  and  the  chance  to 
go  to  school  were  offered  in  Atlanta,  Georgia.  At 
first  he  hesitated,  with  his  limited  preparation,  to  un- 
dertake the  work  of  a  city  pastorate.  His  only  im- 
petus for  such  an  undertaking,  however,  was  the  legacy 
that  had  come  to  him  from  his  father,  a  copy  of  the 
Scriptures,  a  Baptist  Hymnal,  and  pictures  of  Andrew 
Bryan  and  Andrew  Marshall,  the  first  two  pastors  of 
the  First  African  Baptist  Church,  Savannah,  Georgia, 
conceded  by  some  to  be  the  first  Negro  Baptist  church 
in  America.  To  this  he  had  added  a  "  blue-back 
speller  "  and  arithmetic,  Rollin's  Histories,  James  R. 
Boyd's  "  Eclectic  Moral  Philosophy,"  the  Works  of 
Josephus,  Clarke's  Commentaries,  and  Dr.  G.  S. 
Weaver's  "  Heart  of  the  World." 

He  preached  his  "  acceptance  sermon  "  from  Acts 
10  :  29,  "  Therefore  came  I  unto  you  without  gain- 
saying, as  soon  as  I  was  sent  for;  I  ask  therefore  for 
what  intent  ye  have  sent  for  me?  " 

One  of  his  first  moves  after  entering  upon  the  work 
at  Mount  Olive  Baptist  Church,  October  1 ,  1 889,  was 
to  matriculate  in  the  divinity  department  of  the  Atlanta 
Baptist  Seminary   (now  Morehouse  College).     Mr. 

33 


34 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

Fisher  desired  to  enter  the  senior  class;  President 
Graves  was  willing  if  Mr.  Fisher  could  make  the 
grade. 

"  Give  me  three  days,"  Pastor  Fisher  said,  and  at 
the  end  of  that  time  he  entered  the  Greek  class,  took 
Doctor  Graves'  "  Outline  Studies  in  Theology  "  and 
other  courses,  and  graduated  from  the  Theological 
Department  with  the  class  of  1 890. 

In  three  years'  time  by  his  labors  and  financial  man- 
agement, Pastor  Fisher  liquidated  the  heavy  debt, 
added  a  belfry  and  vestibule  to  the  church,  installed 
the  first  pipe-organ,  and  bought  and  paid  for  new  pews 
and  the  parsonage.  He  completely  reorganized  the 
church,  organizing  the  first  Baptist  Young  People's 
Union  it  ever  had.  He  baptized  one  hundred  and 
nineteen  the  first  year,  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  the 
second  year,  and  closed  a  protracted  meeting  in  1 893 
in  which  there  were  ninety-eight  additions,  making  the 
membership  over  six  hundred.  In  this  number  of  con- 
verts there  was  Henry  Lincoln  Johnson,  now  the  only 
Negro  Republican  National  Committeeman.  This  is 
a  remarkable  record  when  you  consider  the  problems 
facing  the  church. 

Mount  Olive  Baptist  Church  was  in  the  most  im- 
moral and  unhealthy  part  of  the  city,  "  Dark  Town." 
The  name  suited  it,  for  this  section  of  the  city  was 
dark  both  physically  and  spiritually.  Men  were  liter- 
ally in  caves,  possessed  with  demons,  tearing  them- 
selves with  the  chains  of  ignorance  and  sin,  but  when 


MT.  OLIVE  BAPTIST  CHURCH 
Atlanta,  Georgia 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 35 

this  messenger  of  the  Cross  came,  the  demons  came  out 
of  the  men,  and  there  in  their  right  minds  they  fell  at 
his  feet,  willing  to  tell  the  story  of  Jesus  to  others. 
Even  the  many  policemen  stationed  in  this  section  of 
the  city  in  the  day,  left  it  at  night  to  the  wiles  of  evil 
machinations. 

It  was  not  long,  though,  before  the  city  paved  this 
section  and  put  in  electric  lights.  The  policemen  were 
withdrawn  in  the  day.  The  pastor  of  Mount  Olive 
Church  was  such  a  moral  force  in  this  district  that  the 
most  disturbing  elements  would  subside  and  sneak 
away  if  only  he  was  seen  to  pass.  He  was  a  living 
testimony  of  the  transforming  power  of  the  gospel. 

In  1893,  Mr.  Fisher  was  again  elected  Moderator 
of  the  Western  Union  Association,  serving  three  years. 
The  Association  was  connected  with  the  State  Con- 
vention, and  much  mission  work  was  done.  The  As- 
sociation was  particularly  strong  in  its  maintenance  of 
Baptist  doctrines.  Its  programs  were  never  complete 
unless  some  one  delivered  a  sermon  or  paper  touching 
New  Testament  fundamentals.  The  moderator  was 
responsible  for  much  of  this. 

Churches  knew  that  in  all  Scriptural  teachings  the 
Moderator  of  the  Western  Union  Association  was 
firm.  On  one  occasion  he  publicly  debated  with  a 
Methodist  brother  on  the  doctrine  of  baptism  and 
demonstrated  his  superior  position  and  ability.  The 
Cotton  States  had  their  International  Exposition  at 
Atlanta  in  November  of  1895.     The  committee  set 


36_ THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

aside  the  fourteenth  day  as  Baptist  Day,  and  chose 
Pastor  Fisher  as  master  of  ceremonies. 

In  this  same  year,  all  Negro  Baptist  churches  and 
Associations  were  looking  forward  to  the  many  re- 
ligious gatherings  in  the  City  of  Atlanta.  Indeed,  this 
was  an  unforgetable  year  for  Mr.  Fisher,  Mount  Olive 
Baptist  Church,  and  the  entire  Baptist  family. 

The  Negro  Baptists  of  the  nation  met  in  their  fif- 
teenth annual  session,  September  28.  Heretofore,  the 
Baptist  forces  were  divided  between  the  Baptist  For- 
eign Mission  Convention  of  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica, which  turned  its  attention  primarily  to  missions  on 
the  West  Coast  of  Africa ;  the  National  Baptist  Con- 
vention, which  took  care  of  home  missions;  and  the 
National  Baptist  Educational  Convention,  which  gave 
its  attention  to  an  educational  program.  At  this  session, 
a  Foreign  Mission  Board,  a  Home  Mission  Board, 
and  an  Educational  Board  supplanted  each  of  these 
conventions  and  became  offspring  of  a  united  body 
thereafter  known  as  the  National  Baptist  Convention 
of  the  United  States  of  America. 

It  was  at  this  meeting  that  Pastor  Fisher  began  to 
attract  nation-wide  notice.  This  meeting  of  the  con- 
vention marked  his  seventh  consecutive  attendance,  but 
only  at  this  last  session  did  he  attain  to  an  abiding 
recognition.  He  humorously  related  in  after  life  how 
he  with  many  others  went  to  the  meetings  of  the  Na- 
tional Convention  and  never  got  so  much  as  the  atten- 
tion of  the  chair.    Such  a  course  was  not  strange,  for 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 37 

at  best  only  a  few  men  got  on  the  program  and  shaped 
the  policies  of  the  body.  Many  thought  that  the  con- 
vention as  a  whole  was  not  representative  of  the  de- 
nomination in  general,  for  many  reserved,  cool,  and 
scholarly  ministers  would  not  resort  to  the  boisterous, 
political,  and  "  leather-lunged  "  methods  that  some 
thought  had  to  be  employed  to  attract  attention  in  this 
open  forum. 

Pastor  Fisher  was  coming  into  the  light  in  Georgia. 
Doctors  E.  R.  Carter,  Charles  T.  Walker,  Collins  H. 
Lyons,  and  Emanuel  K.  Love  were  some  of  the  older 
men  leading  the  ranks.  Doctor  Love  was  the  gigantic, 
leading,  reactionary  figure — pastor  of  the  First  Afri- 
can Baptist  Church  at  Savannah,  President  of  the 
Missionary  Baptist  Convention  of  Georgia,  and  four 
times  the  President  of  the  National  Baptist  Conven- 
tion. Pastor  Fisher  represented  the  progressive  ele- 
ment. Naturally,  it  would  be  to  the  interest  of 
the  reactionary  forces  to  oppose  the  efforts  of  the 
progressives.  Hence  it  was  not  strange  for  Doctor 
Love  to  make  this  utterance  when  he  met  Pastor 
Fisher  at  the  State  Convention  in  November: 

"  Fisher,  when  I  leave  this  town  your  church  won't 
have  you  as  its  pastor." 

But  Mr.  Fisher  was  just  as  positive.  "  When  you 
leave  this  town  you  won't  be  our  president,"  he  re- 
torted. 

Certain  enough,  the  decree  was  fixed.  The  Rev. 
Collins  H.  Lyons,  Secretary  of  the  Missionary  Bap- 


38 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

tist  Convention,  attacked  the  president  of  that  body. 
Sentiment  was  entirely  in  favor  of  Secretary  Lyon's 
assertions  since  he  was  a  first  cousin  of  the  president 
and  was  in  a  position  to  know  the  facts  in  the  case. 
Thereupon  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  led  most  of  the  delegates 
to  his  church  and  formed  the  temporary  organization 
of  the  General  Missionary  Baptist  and  Educational 
Convention  of  Georgia  with  Dr.  George  W.  Dwelle 
as  first  president. 

Both  of  these  factions  lived  for  two  years,  neither 
doing  the  service  for  which  they  were  started.  Dr. 
T.  J.  Morgan  of  The  American  Baptist  Home  Mis- 
sion Society  wanted  to  harness  this  latent  energy  for 
service  along  the  lines  of  education. 

At  his  suggestion  both  conventions  met  in  Macon. 
His  plan  was  to  enlist  the  cooperation  of  the  Negro 
Baptists  in  support  of  the  Home  Mission  schools,  Spel- 
man  Seminary  and  Atlanta  Baptist  College  (whose 
charter  granted  full  college  privileges  in  1897).  The 
Society  felt  that  some  support  of  the  schools  ought  to 
be  forthcoming  since  it  had  befriended  the  Negro  in 
early  times.  The  appeal  was  made  to  representatives 
of  the  churches  because  more  was  expected  of  this 
Christian  leadership  than  of  any  other  group,  since  for 
them  so  much  more  had  been  sacrificed. 

Less  contention  centered  around  Spelman  Seminary 
than  around  Atlanta  Baptist  College.  President 
George  Sale  of  the  College  might  have  averted  some 
inimical  developments  if  he  had  had  a  better  knowl- 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 39 

edge  of  the  Negro.  He  was  a  Canadian  and  had 
brought  to  his  well-filled  office  neither  the  prejudices 
of  some  Northerners  for  the  Negro  nor  the  prejudices 
of  most  Southerners  against  the  Negro.  He  treated 
all  parties  concerned  as  men. 

On  the  one  hand,  the  reactionary  element  repre- 
senting the  Missionary  Baptist  Convention  felt  that  it 
was  time  that  Negroes  were  putting  their  money  in 
some  institution  that  they  could  own  and  control.  This 
attitude  grew  out  of  a  dilemna  which  white  powers 
that  rule  over  undeveloped  peoples  cannot  escape; 
either  people  so  ruled  flourish  under  outside  influence 
or  they  do  not.  If  they  do  not  flourish,  there  is  no 
reason  to  continue  there.  If  they  do  flourish,  there  is 
no  power  on  earth  that  can  eternally  subdue  the  pas- 
sion for  self-government. 

As  it  was,  Doctor  Morgan  made  clear  the  fact  that 
all  money  thus  far  contributed  had  been  donated. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  progressive  element  repre- 
senting the  General  Missionary  Baptist  and  Educa- 
tional Convention  held  that  all  any  one  could  ever 
hope  to  gain  from  an  institution  would  be  an  educa- 
tion, and  since  the  Atlanta  Baptist  College  would  al- 
ways give  that  to  Negro  Baptists,  they  believed  that  it 
should  be  supported. 

A  logomachy  followed,  in  which  Doctor  Morgan 
explained  that  those  who  failed  to  support  the  Society 
which  had  made  an  unparalleled  contribution  to  Negro 
advancement  were  not  in  the  least  grateful.    The  re- 


40 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

ply  of  that  giant  of  Georgia,  Emanuel  K.  Love,  rang 
true  to  the  hearts  even  of  those  who  did  not  agree  with 
many  of  his  views,  but  his  bluntness  remained  a  bitter 
memory. 

"  Whenever  we  assert  our  manhood,"  he  began  with 
deep  sarcasm,  "you  always  say,  Ingratitude!  ingrati- 
tude! ingratitude!  When  will  we  ever  get  through 
paying  our  debt  of  gratitude?  "  he  queried. 

It  may  be  that  he  never  realized  the  results  of  his 
speech.  It  is  seen  today,  for  the  college  at  Atlanta  has 
a  Negro  president  and  is  manned  almost  entirely  by 
Negro  educators.  Nevertheless,  for  that  occasion, 
opinions  were  divided.  Even  members  of  the  Mission- 
ary Baptist  Convention  favored  cooperation  with  the 
white  Baptists.  Much  time  was  taken  in  order  to 
avoid  voting  upon  the  matter,  but  speeches  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Walker  and  Pastor  Fisher  clinched  the  proposi- 
tion eternally.  The  plea  of  Doctor  Morgan  was  sus- 
tained. 

It  was  at  this  meeting  that  Mr.  Fisher  made  the 
decision  that  determined  his  destiny.  In  truth,  all  of 
his  subsequent  work  was  an  outcome  of  his  conclusions 
at  this  meeting  and,  by  way  of  anticipation,  it  is  worthy 
to  add  that  if  he  had  not  been  in  Atlanta,  Georgia,  he 
might  never  have  gotten  to  Chicago,  Illinois. 

The  Missionary  Baptist  Convention  established 
Central  City  College  at  Macon.  The  Reverends  E. 
R.  Carter,  C.  S.  Wilkins,  and  W.  G.  Johnson  organ- 
ized an  Educational  Society  which  lasted  two  years; 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 41 

finding  that  their  views  were  in  harmony  with  those  of 
the  General  Missionary  and  Educational  Convention, 
they  united.  Hence  there  remained  the  two  factions 
for  over  twenty  years;  recently  these  conventions  have 
united. 

Mr.  Fisher  served  the  General  Missionary  and 
Educational  Convention  as  President  of  the  Executive 
Board  and  was  the  Managing  Editor  of  their  official 
organ,  the  "  Rome  Journal." 

Such  a  stand  in  favor  of  The  American  Baptist 
Home  Mission  Society  called  for  action  as  well  as 
words.  Pastor  Fisher  had  no  hesitancy  in  sending  his 
daughters,  Gertrude  and  Mattie,  to  Spelman  Semi- 
nary, and  his  sons,  Elijah  and  James,  to  Atlanta  Bap- 
tist College.  He  even  furnished  the  means  for  several 
poor  students  to  get  the  advantages  of  these  Christian 
schools.  Through  poverty,  misery,  and  woe  he  had 
at  least  achieved  the  notice  of  the  people,  and  he  felt 
it  a  duty  to  encourage  the  young  element.  One  of  the 
last  of  his  acts  while  in  Atlanta  was  a  pleasant  eve- 
ning tendered  the  graduating  classes  of  his  alma  mater. 

Rev.  and  Mrs.  E.  J.  Fisher: 

The  graduating  classes  of  Atlanta  Baptist  College  will  be 
pleased  to  accept  your  kind  invitation  to  a  reception  Wednes- 
day evening  from  6  to  9  o'clock. 

B.  G.  BRAWLEY,  Sec.  Coll.  Class. 

Even  while  a  resident  of  Chicago  he  continued  to 
send  many  students  to  Atlanta  at  a  time  when  North- 


42 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

em  institutions  were  less  expensive  and  more  fittingly 
equipped.  But  he  knew  that  no  white  school  could 
give  the  Negro  youth  poise,  confidence,  and  a  knowl- 
edge of  his  race  like  the  Negro  school.  Today,  the 
going  of  Northern  students  to  Atlanta  has  become  a 
movement. 

Pastor  Fisher  served  as  trustee  of  Spelman  Semi- 
nary and  is  reported  to  have  done  the  unusual  thing: 
He  secured  for  a  colored  physician  the  privilege  of 
practising  in  the  Negro  hospital  of  the  Seminary  which 
to  this  day  is  open  only  to  white  physicians.    Selah ! 

All  of  his  subsequent  pastorates  were  simply  en- 
largements of  this  one.  He  laid  here  the  foundation 
of  his  future  work.  He  taught  the  people  to  buy  homes 
and  open  businesses.  He  himself  was  a  silent  partner 
with  Doctor  McDougal  in  a  drug-store  opposite  the 
church. 

At  the  commencement  in  1 896  of  one  of  the  Negro 
colleges,  Mr.  Fisher  was  honored  with  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity  and  at  the  commencement  of  the 
same  college  the  following  year,  he  was  again  given 
the  same  distinction.  It  could  not  have  been  that 
Mr.  Fisher  was  to  give  one  of  the  degrees  to  another 
minister,  for  Negro  preachers,  from  the  youngest  to  the 
oldest,  are  traditionally  doctors  of  divinity. 

Mr.  Fisher  demonstrated  at  Atlanta  that  he  was  a 
race  man,  supporting  each  issue  for  the  betterment  of 
his  people.  A  Negro  restaurant  was  needed  in  the 
city,  and  he  was  one  of  the  promoters,  lending  his 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 43 

moral  and  financial  support.  With  many  of  the  lead- 
ing Negroes  of  the  State,  a  weekly  religious  news- 
paper, the  "  Atlanta  Tribune,"  was  launched  and  he 
assumed  the  editorship. 

That  form  of  newspaper  was  fairly  typical  of  Negro 
religious  periodicals  with  local  circulations,  and  has 
become  more  successful  than  a  national  issue,  probably 
because  each  individual  church,  constituting  a  whole, 
is  interested  first  in  itself.  The  busy  Negro  pastor 
being  not  only  the  spiritual  adviser  of  the  church,  but 
also  the  business  genius,  philosopher,  and  guide,  after 
making  contributions  to  these  journals  and  caring  for 
his  congregation,  has  little  time  for  other  literary  work. 

However,  there  have  been  valiant  attempts  at  writ- 
ing. Many  of  these  have  remained  unpublished  be- 
cause the  generous  public  has  been  less  interested  in 
the  religious  life  of  the  Negro ;  because  many  of  them 
have  not  been  up  to  the  standard,  and  because  the 
whole  matter  has  often  been  referred  to  the  Negro 
Baptist  press. 

Still  noble  works,  prominent  treatises  on  religion, 
education,  and  history,  and  in  fiction  and  poetry  have 
been  given  the  world  by  the  Negro  Baptist  clergy. 
Pastor  Fisher  added  two  works  to  the  number :  "  The 
Influence  of  Baptist  Principles  on  Other  Denomina- 
tions "  and  "  A  Regenerated  Church-membership  and 
Why." 

In  the  issue  of  the  "  Atlanta  Tribune  "  for  July  15, 
1 899,  mention  is  made  of  an  address  of  Editor  Fisher, 
E 


44 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

July  8,  to  the  white  and  colored  citizens  of  Grantville 
and  Coweta  Counties  on  the  relation  of  the  races : 

As  no  book  of  art,  science,  or  philosophy  can  be  so  safely 
relied  upon  as  the  book  of  Holy  Writ  because  of  its  author 
(he  says)  we  shall  call  your  attention  to  it  in  order  that  our 
relationship  may  be  rightly  set  forth.  In  Genesis  1  :  26,  God 
said,  "  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image ;  after  our  own  like- 
ness," and  to  this  time  no  other  creation  has  taken  place  which 
caused  all  the  human  family  to  begin  with  Adam.  Then  we 
are  taught  further  that  all  were  destroyed  in  the  flood  save 
Noah  and  the  others  of  his  family.  .  .  Then  one  of  the  most 
scholarly  and  devout  men,  after  leaving  off  his  sins,  tells  us 
that  "  God  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  for  to 
dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth  .  .  ." 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  recognizes  these  say- 
ings and  knows  no  racial  lines  or  colors  of  skins,  but  regards 
all  as  citizens  of  this  commonwealth.  Hence  all  the  rights 
and  immunities  that  have  been  accorded  any  other  citizen  have 
been  promised  to  the  Negro,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  those  in  au- 
thority to  see  to  it  that  these  rights  be  accorded  the  Negro  as 
they  are  accorded  other  citizens. 

We  are  here  as  American  citizens  and  here  to  stay.  Pre- 
vious circumstances  brought  us  here,  and  the  right  of  choice 
which  belongs  to  every  citizen  keeps  us  here.  .  .  We  are  here 
to  inform  you  and  we  raise  our  voices  unreservedly  with  no 
uncertain  sound  to  let  you  know  that  we  are  absolutely  opposed 
to  rape  and  crime  in  any  form  and  in  anybody,  and  we  stand 
ready  to  join  the  white  citizens  of  these  counties  in  bringing 
to  justice  every  rapist  and  every  law  violator.  We  cannot 
join  any  mob  for  the  reason  we  propose  to  be  law-abiding. 

Probably  Editor  Fisher  was  not  burned  at  the  stake 
because  he  had  only  one  leg.     At  any  price,  he  de- 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 45 

clared  the  whole  truth  and  spared  not.  It  was  neces- 
sary to  employ  all  of  his  rhetorical  powers  to  hammer 
people  to  a  sense  of  their  possibilities.  Time  and  time 
again  he  cried  aloud  from  his  rostrum  that  if  people 
did  not  like  his  doctrines  he  would  wend  his  way  to  the 
highways  and  by-ways,  place  his  pulpit  there,  cry, 
"  Holy,  holy,  holy,"  and  some  one  would  come  out  to 
hear  him. 

In  "  The  City  of  Atlanta,  a  Descriptive,  Histori- 
cal and  Industrial  Review  of  the  Gateway  City  of  the 
South,  Being  the  World's  Fair  Series  on  Great  Ameri- 
can Cities,  1892-1893,"  the  editor,  mentioning  only 
three  Negro  churches,  had  this  to  say  of  Mount  Olive 
and  her  pastor : 

Since  his  first  attempt  to  educate  himself  ten  years  ago  his 
success  in  public  life  has  been  marked.  He  was  moderator  of 
one  of  the  colored  Associations  in  the  State.  He  is  now  and 
has  been  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Baptist  Convention 
and  President  of  the  Executive  Board  of  the  State  Conven- 
tion. He  is  also  a  member  of  the  National  Baptist  Conven- 
tion of  the  United  States  of  America  and  has  not  failed  to 
attend  a  session  for  five  years.  He  has  baptized  over  twelve 
hundred  people  and  has  traveled  and  labored  in  evangelical 
work  in  this  and  other  States. 

Reverend  Fisher  is  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  culture  and 
the  best  elements  of  success. 


IV 
AT  THE  COALING-STATION 

1901-1903 


AT  THE  COALING-STATION 
1901-1903 

It  was  not  easy  to  resign  a  pastorate  in  which  so 
many  useful  days  had  been  spent.  But  Atlanta  was 
no  place  for  a  man,  who  in  frankness  often  became 
blunt,  and  who,  declaring  the  whole  truth,  spared  not 
the  exploiters  of  the  weak.  Men  with  vision  were 
needed  farther  on. 

Mr.  Fisher  decided  to  go.  He  had  no  contempt 
for  the  South ;  for  with  a  changed  humanity,  believing 
in  law  and  righteousness,  giving  the  opportunity  to 
every  man  to  win  or  lose  the  values  of  life,  its  days 
kissed  by  the  crimson  of  the  evening  sun,  its  air  sweet 
with  the  rose  and  magnolia,  its  fields  rich  with  the 
snowy  bolls  of  cotton,  and  its  cattle  fat  on  fertile  slopes, 
the  South  would  be  the  treasure  land  of  the  States.  In 
the  transition  period  he  must  do  good  elsewhere;  there 
were  seas  into  which  his  ship  had  not  sailed. 

The  first  stop  was  Nashville  in  the  State  of  Tennes- 
see, where  future  Ethiopia  gathered  from  every  State, 
from  Africa,  and  from  the  West  Indies.  He  tarried 
there  to  recruit  strength ;  Spruce  Street  Baptist  Church 
had  extended  him  a  call. 

The  city  itself  was  attractive.  The  lights  of  the 
boulevards,  the  sloping  hills  and  cool  valleys,  the  pa- 

49 


50 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

latial  residences  of  landed  gentry  fat  from  the  life- 
blood  of  unrequited  toilers,  and  the  massive  capitol 
with  its  terraced  lawn  offset  with  memories  of  civil 
strife,  made  up  Nashville.  On  yonder  hill  below 
"  Rock  Town  "  was  the  reservoir  from  which  pipes 
conveyed  water  to  the  city.  The  physical  principle 
underlying  this  water  system  was  that  the  pressure  on 
such  a  volume  was  able  to  force  the  water  through 
pipes,  thereby  furnishing  cleanliness  and  refreshing 
drafts  to  every  inhabitant.  This  huge  reservoir,  al- 
though a  place  of  interest  to  the  traveler,  was,  never- 
theless symbolic  of  the  condition  of  the  Negro  who 
lived  apart  and  moved  in  a  sphere  all  his  own.  The 
pressure  of  "  Jim-Crowism,"  segregation,  disfranchise- 
ment, and  poor  housing  conditions  had  forced  thirty 
thousand  Negroes  into  a  restricted  space.  As  a  result, 
the  Negro  area  was  replete  with  little  businesses, 
schoolhouses,  the  offices  of  professional  men,  four  insti- 
tutions of  higher  learning,  including  one  medical 
school,  and  a  score  of  Baptist  churches.  Nashville 
was  the  center  of  operation  of  the  National  Baptist 
Convention.  Its  publishing-house  was  there  printing 
the  literature  for  thousands  of  churches  of  the  enfran- 
chised race. 

But  the  future  of  Spruce  Street  Church  was  not  as- 
sured ;  1 900  had  been  the  year  of  calamity.  The  fire 
insurance  upon  the  building  had  been  reduced  one- 
half,  and  mysteriously,  in  less  than  a  month  after  the 
reduction,  the  building  burned  to  the  ground.     The 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 5[ 

insurance  was  not  sufficient  to  erect  a  new  building, 
and  even  if  it  had  been,  the  money  was  not  so  used 
for,  in  the  meantime,  a  division  had  taken  place  and 
the  money  was  divided  between  the  two  factions. 
About  three  hundred  members  purchased  property 
three  lots  from  the  church  and  there  built  a  small  edi- 
fice which  they  called  the  First  Baptist  Church.  The 
remaining  number  under  the  Rev.  J.  E.  Purdy  had  just 
sufficient  funds  to  rebuild  the  basement  of  the  large 
Spruce  Street  Church.  They  were  worshiping  there 
in  1901  when  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  was  called,  after  the 
death  of  their  previous  pastor. 

Truly,  there  was  nothing  encouraging  about  the 
Spruce  Street  Church  but  the  field.  Much  work 
needed  to  be  done  and  done  immediately.  Mr.  Fisher 
served  the  Spruce  Street  Church  day  and  night,  and  in 
less  than  a  year  the  graduating  exercises  of  Roger  Wil- 
liams University  were  held  in  its  new,  commodious, 
and  well-furnished  auditorium.  This  gigantic  accom- 
plishment was  characteristic  of  Negro  pastoral 
methods.  White  congregations  have  the  necessary 
funds  subscribed  and  every  detail  planned  before  they 
lift  a  spade  of  dirt,  while  Negroes  with  practically  no 
accumulated  wealth  and  with  less  businesslike  methods 
get  the  same,  or  even  better  results  by  relying  on  divine 
aid  to  supply  all  deficiencies.  Many  persons  remarked 
that  they  had  never  seen  building  material  go  so  fast 
to  a  place. 

If  reputation  or  honor  was  the  aspiration  of  Pastor 


52 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

Fisher  he  had  indeed  achieved  that.  However,  the 
Spruce  Street  Church  was  not  a  monument  to  himself 
but  a  dedication  to  Jehovah.  This  last  thought  had 
been  the  inspiration  that  was  peculiar  to  the  members 
who  had  worked  so  earnestly  and  so  well.  God  had 
been  magnified  at  all  times  and  in  every  meeting. 
Spruce  Street  Church  was  in  the  midst  of  evangelistic 
services  continuously;  the  pastor  was  his  own  evan- 
gelist. 

Almost  before  the  church  was  under  roof,  the  pas- 
tor was  in  demand  for  evangelistic  services  in  and 
out  of  the  city.  Probably  this  was  true  for  two  rea- 
sons: First,  he  was  an  all-round  evangelist,  giving  his 
message  both  in  song  and  in  sermon ;  and  secondly,  he 
was  one  of  the  outstanding  men  of  the  denomination. 
During  the  few  days  of  his  presence  in  any  one  of  the 
principal  cities  of  the  country,  the  place  was  deeply 
stirred.  Crowds  thronged  out  of  curiosity  to  hear  this 
one-legged  preacher,  and  his  plain,  outspoken,  burning 
messages  led  impenitent  men  and  women  from  all 
classes  of  society  to  leave  their  sins  and  turn  to  God. 
The  first  of  his  engagements  was  spent  in  the  adjoin- 
ing States  of  Kentucky,  Carolina,  and  Virginia. 

The  winter  of  1 902  was  not  unlike  many  previously 
experienced  by  Mr.  Fisher,  but  was  very  severe  upon 
his  family  who  were  accustomed  only  to  the  warm  sun- 
shine and  chilling  rains  of  Georgia.  Blinding  snow- 
storms, hail,  and  sleet  were  the  rule.  It  was  hard 
traveling  for  pedestrians  over  the  unpaved  streets  of 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 53 

"  Rock  Town."  Pastor  Fisher  walked  from  his  home 
all  the  winter  to  attend  revival  services  in  his  church, 
but  his  family  attended  very  little.  One  evening  in 
February,  just  about  dusk,  his  mother,  Charlotte,  then 
past  eighty-two  years  of  age,  set  out  for  Spruce  Street 
Church,  a  few  squares  distant.  The  snow  was  falling 
fast  and  a  wintry  blast  was  sweeping  from  the  North. 
Without  the  knowledge  of  any  one,  Charlotte  had 
emerged  from  the  bungalow  out  upon  the  porch  and 
thence  down  a  short  board  walk  covered  with  ice  to  the 
beaten  pathways  of  the  street  toward  the  church.  On 
and  on  she  walked,  but  had  not  reached  the  church 
when  her  son  returned  that  evening.  Meanwhile,  Mrs. 
Fisher,  anxious  over  the  mysterious  disappearance  of 
Charlotte,  sent  the  two  older  boys  in  quest  of  her 
mother-in-law.  The  pastor  called  members  of  his 
flock,  but  they  too  had  seen  no  trace  of  her.  The 
police  were  notified.  For  days  they  hunted.  The 
suspense  was  almost  unendurable,  but  alas !  about  two 
weeks  later  they  came  upon  her  form  about  three  miles 
from  home  with  bonnet  and  shawl  tied  over  her  ears, 
frozen  in  the  drifting  snow. 

The  tragic  death  of  his  mother  was  a  great  shock 
to  the  minister  already  burdened  with  cares.  He  had 
striven  hard  to  remember  "  the  only  commandment 
with  promise,"  and  had  honored  with  loving  and  con- 
stant solicitude  his  dear  mother.  There  remained  of 
his  immediate  family  only  a  sister,  Mrs.  Sarah  Brown, 
and  three  brothers,  Miles,  Henry,  and  Abraham. 


54 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

Solicitous  as  he  was  of  the  welfare  of  his  mother,  he 
was  none  the  less  zealous  to  remember  his  wife's 
mother  and  her  family.  He  visited  them  frequently 
and  never  left  them  without  providing  a  store  of  pro- 
visions and  clothes.  Naturally,  they  thought  of  him 
as  their  rich  relative  in  Nashville,  but  Mr.  Fisher  was 
only  demonstrating  that  charity  did  not  begin  at  home 
but  went  skipping  over  hill  and  dale  to  minister  to  those 
in  need. 

With  barely  a  living  wage  he  sustained  all  of  his 
children  in  institutions  of  higher  learning  as  far  as  they 
would  go.  His  three  daughters,  Gertrude  Lillian, 
Shepherd  Mattie,  and  Charlotte  Emily,  finished 
courses  at  Spelman  Seminary.  Gertrude  also  finished 
pharmacy  in  the  Meharry  Medical  College;  Mattie 
was  a  student  in  the  college  department  of  Roger  Wil- 
liams University  until  her  health  failed,  and  Charlotte 
graduated  from  the  Teachers'  Professional  Course  at 
Spelman.  His  sons,  Elijah  John,  Jr.,  and  James  Ed- 
ward, graduated  from  State  University,  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  and  Morehouse  College,  Atlanta,  Georgia, 
respectively. 

Mr.  Fisher  also  saw  the  need  of  more  training  for 
himself.  In  leisure  hours  you  could  find  him  among 
the  hundreds  of  volumes  in  his  library  in  earnest  prepa- 
ration for  each  occasion.  In  a  city  with  four  institu- 
tions of  higher  learning,  the  pulpit  needed  to  be  no  less 
qualified  than  the  pew.  A  church  governed  by  the 
people,  to  attain  the  highest  development,  must  be 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 55 

directed  by  a  cultured  and  progressive  ministry.  In 
the  summer  of  1902,  Mr.  Fisher  spent  his  vacation  at 
the  University  of  Chicago,  in  order  to  attain  his  cher- 
ished ambition  of  studying  Greek  and  Hebrew.  For 
the  first  time,  too,  he  had  an  extended  opportunity  of 
surveying  the  great  progressive  center  of  the  North- 
west, Chicago. 

These  were  preeminently  the  days  of  busy,  bustling, 
history-making  Chicago.  He  saw  the  Negro  workers 
busy  in  their  toil,  side  by  side  with  the  Caucasian,  but 
he  saw  industries  that  Negroes  could  not  enter.  He 
saw  Negroes  voluntarily  confined  within  an  area  called 
the  "  Black  Belt,"  and  serious  dangers  avoided  only 
because  of  the  relative  scarcity  of  the  colored  people. 
He  saw  commercialized  vice  and  the  licensed  saloon 
cursing  the  weaker  element  of  his  race  and  marring 
the  splendid  record  of  Negro  achievement.  He  missed 
the  number  of  businesses,  institutions  of  learning,  and 
well-to-do  Negroes  of  Nashville,  but  found  comfort 
in  a  few  prominent  physicians,  lawyers,  and  institutions 
such  as  Provident  Hospital  and  Amanda  Smith's 
Home.  He  knew  that  he  was  a  Negro  by  law  in 
Nashville  and  felt  that  he  was  one  by  custom  in  Chi- 
cago.   Chicago!    Yes,  Chicago  smacked  of  freedom. 

Denominationally,  Nashville  was  better  organized, 
being  the  center  of  many  strong  churches  with  out- 
standing men  as  pastors,  while  Chicago,  having  about 
the  same  Negro  population,  had  only  a  few  "  store- 
front "  churches,  Berean  and  Bethesda  being  the  most 


56 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

prominent,  and  three  congregations,  Olivet,  Shiloh,  and 
Hermon,  which  would  correspond  with  any  of  the 
thriving  ones  in  Nashville. 

Dr.  S.  J.  Williams,  an  ex-president  of  the  General 
Baptist  State  Convention  of  Illinois,  said,  "  Before 
Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  came  to  the  State,  we  never  knew 
officially  that  there  was  a  National  Baptist  Conven- 
tion.'* 

This  lack  of  acquaintance  with  national  affairs  and 
of  cooperation  in  the  Baptist  ranks  showed  itself  in  the 
ineffectiveness  of  the  churches  which  were  to  minister 
to  the  more  than  sixty  thousand  Negroes  throughout 
the  State.  In  settlements  near  Chicago,  such  as  Glen- 
coe,  Lake  Forest,  Waukegan,  Morgan  Park,  Evans- 
ton,  and  Joliet,  there  were  in  many  cases  either  no 
churches  or  poorly  organized  and  struggling  begin- 
nings. 

Mr.  Fisher  was  invited  to  preach  in  a  goodly  num- 
ber of  churches,  including  Olivet,  the  mother  of  Negro 
Baptist  congregations  in  the  city.  He  accepted  the 
invitations,  but  returned  to  Nashville  after  the  session 
of  the  University  closed,  to  complete  the  work  of  the 
historic  Spruce  Street  Church  which  had  been  firmly 
reestablished. 

Shortly  after  his  departure,  trouble  arose  in  the 
Olivet  Church.  Thirty-five  thousand  dollars  from  the 
sale  of  the  church  property  on  Harmon  Court  had  been 
lost,  and  the  church  house  at  Twenty-seventh  and 
Dearborn  Streets  was  sold  on  account  of  a  debt  of 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 57 

twenty-eight  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  which  the 
church  had  not  a  penny  to  pay.  The  congregation 
was  out  of  doors  worshiping  in  Arlington  Hall  at 
Thirty-first  Street  and  Indiana  Avenue,  and  the  pas- 
tor's relation  was  terminated. 

Mr.  Fisher  became  aware  that  the  Olivet  Church 
was  without  an  undershepherd  through  several  tele- 
grams that  passed  between  the  official  board  and  him- 
self, as  is  shown  by  the  following  statement  printed  in 
the  "  Conservator  ": 

After  several  telegrams  passed  between  the  official  board 
and  Doctor  Fisher,  he  consented  to  pay  us  a  visit  which  he 
did.  The  church  was  so  well  pleased  with  him  that  they 
extended  to  him  a  call  October  20,  1902. 

Nevertheless,  the  condition  of  the  church  was  such 
that  many  of  his  acquaintances  wrote,  "  Don't  come, 
you  can't  make  it  here."  He  was  confronted  by  the 
thought  that,  on  the  one  hand,  it  would  seem  the  part 
of  human  wisdom  to  stay  at  the  helm  of  the  church 
which  was  now  prepared  to  do  large  service,  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  it  would  be  unbaptistic  and  un- 
manly to  refuse  a  task  involving  difficulty.  His  com- 
mission read,  "  Go  .  .  .  preach,"  and  was  so  simple  in 
its  interpretation  that  no  difficulty  could  hinder  him  nor 
hierarchy  determine  for  him  when  or  where  to  go. 

After  due  consideration  the  following  message  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Spruce  Street  Baptist 
Church,  December  7,  1902,  for  a  hearing: 


58 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

Nashville,  Tennessee. 

To  the  Officers  and  Members  of  the  Spruce  Street  Baptist 
Church. 

My  very  dear  Sisters  and  Brethren: 

Two  years  ago  you  called  me  as  your  pastor  to  take  charge 
of  your  church  as  its  spiritual  leader  under  God;  therefore  I 
came,  without  gainsaying,  determined  not  to  know  anything 
among  you  save  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified.  I  thank  God 
through  Jesus  Christ  for  you  all,  and  thank  you  for  the  confi- 
dence which  you  have  had  in  me  and  for  the  assistance  you 
have  rendered  during  my  stay  with  you. 

Many  have  been  the  pleasant  moments  which  we  have 
spent  together  doing  the  work  of  the  Lord,  and  much  has  been 
accomplished.  Although  we  have  not  done  what  we  desired 
to  do,  under  the  circumstances  we  have  done  what  we  could. 

We  have  about  completed  your  house  of  worship  valued 
at  over  thirty  thousand  dollars,  all  of  which  has  been  paid 
except  a  few  hundred  dollars.  Unlike  the  people  in  the  days 
of  Nehemiah,  you  did  not  all  have  a  mind  to  work,  but  let 
us  thank  God  for  what  has  been  accomplished.  We  have 
had  more  than  two  hundred  accessions  to  the  church  during 
our  pastorate,  many  of  whom  are  upright,  faithful,  Christian 
men  and  women. 

I  have  taken  great  delight  in  the  work  of  the  Lord  here 
among  you,  and  have  done  my  best  since  the  first  day  I  reached 
your  city  to  advance  the  cause  of  our  Redeemer  both  by 
precept  and  example. 

I  have  learned  to  love  many  of  you  for  your  nobility  of 
faith  and  Christian  character.  I  feel  at  a  loss  to  know  of  the 
day  of  our  separation,  but  I  find  that  there  is  another  field 
which  does  not  perhaps  need  me  worse  than  you  as  for  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  but  because  of  the  condition  of  the 
house  of  worship,  of  the  scattered  condition  of  the  members 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 59 

of  that  church,  and  of  the  condition  of  the  Baptist  denomina- 
tion in  general  which  lies  nearest  and  dearest  my  heart.  There- 
fore, having  been  unanimously  called  by  the  members  of  the 
Olivet  Baptist  Church  of  Chicago,  Illinois,  and  assured  by 
many  citizens  both  white  and  colored  of  their  unanimity  to 
have  me  come  to  that  field,  and  it  does  seem  in  this  case  that 
the  "  voice  of  the  people  is  the  voice  of  God,"  believing  that 
I  can  do  more  there  under  the  existing  circumstances  to  ad- 
vance the  cause  of  my  Redeemer,  I  do  most  respectfully,  and 
yet  lovingly — because  I  want  always  to  be  remembered  and 
loved  by  you,  as  you  are  and  will  be  by  me,  because  you  are 
deserving — tender  you  my  resignation  as  Pastor  of  the  Spruce 
Street  Baptist  Church  to  go  into  effect  January  25,  1903. 

Praying  the  blessings  of  Almighty  God  upon  you  and  the 
church,  that  he  will  keep  you  in  perfect  peace  and  love,  and 
that  he  may  give  you  another  shepherd  who  will  be  more  in- 
fluential in  bringing  your  husbands,  your  wives,  your  children, 
and  your  neighbors  to  Jesus  Christ  than  I  have  been,  and  ask- 
ing an  interest  in  your  prayers  ever  in  my  behalf,  I  remain 

Your  brother  in  Jesus  Christ, 

Elijah  J.  Fisher. 


V 

THE  STORM 

1903-1904 


THE  STORM 
1903-1904 

The  Olivet  Baptist  Church  logically  carried  with 
it  the  leadership  of  the  Negro  Baptist  family  in 
Chicago  and  in  Illinois.  The  former  pastor  on  ac- 
count of  past  connections  desired  with  other  ministers 
to  hold  that  leadership,  although  the  right  to  it  was 
not  his.  Whereupon,  opposition  was  manifested. 
With  some  of  this  opposition  Mr.  Fisher  was  ac- 
quainted, but  with  other  phases  of  it  he  was  not.  A 
letter  from  the  official  board  speaks  for  itself  the  senti- 
ment of  the  church  regarding  the  former  pastor  and  the 
property,  also  giving  light  on  the  case  of  two  hundred 
members  who  had  been  enjoined  from  coming  back  to 
Olivet : 

Chicago,  January  20,  1903. 
Mr.  Chauncey  M.  Miller: 

You  are  hereby  authorized  to  take  charge  of  the  interests 
of  the  Olivet  Baptist  Church  in  the  matter  now  and  heretofore 
pending  between  the  church  and  its  creditors  represented  by 
Israel  Cowen,  Mr.  Dunne,  and  J.  H.  Hooper,  and  also  the 
claim  of  Jasper  Higginbotham ;  and  obtain  the  best  possible 
terms  for  settlement  of  the  church  debts  and  repurchase  of  the 
church  property;  and  for  your  services  in  endeavoring  to  effect 
such  settlements  and  repurchase,  we  agree  to  pay  you  the  sum 

63 


64 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

of  three  hundred  dollars,  in  addition  to  your  services  in  the 
injunction  suit. 

The  first  expression  of  this  growing  antagonism 
toward  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  was  mild,  but  upon  his  instal- 
lation Beelzebub  and  his  demons  seemed  let  loose. 
The  services  were  held  Monday  evening,  January  26, 
1903.  The  program  was  made  up  of  city  celebrities, 
including  Dr.  George  C.  Hall,  the  Rev.  A.  J.  Carey, 
Hon.  B.  F.  Moseley,  Mr.  Monroe  N.  Work,  Dr. 
Johnston  Myers,  pastor  the  Immanuel  Baptist  Church 
(white),  Mrs.  G.  M.  DeBaptiste  Faulkner,  Mrs.  I. 
A.  Davis,  National  Organizer  Colored  Women's 
Clubs,  and  Messrs.  O.  L.  Ballinger,  Henry  T.  Elby, 
Stephen  A.  Griffin,  and  William  Jefferson  represent- 
ing the  church  proper.  In  addition,  the  colored  Bap- 
tist ministers  were  invited  and  were  expected  to  take 
an  active  part,  but  none  of  them  appeared.  Pastor 
Fisher  anticipated  this  occurrence  and  asked  his  school- 
mate, a  man  of  national  repute,  the  Rev.  P.  James 
Bryant,  of  Atlanta,  Georgia,  to  officiate.  Dr.  Johns- 
ton Myers  and  Rev.  Mr.  Bryant  made  the  principal 
addresses  on  this  occasion,  whose  import  has  not  been 
forgotten  by  those  in  sympathy  with  the  aspirations  of 
the  Olivet  people. 

A  spirit  prevailed  in  Mr.  Fisher  not  ordinarily  seen. 
He  said: 

Under  my  pastorate  I  have  succeeded  in  leading  the  mem- 
bers of  Olivet  to  the  belief  that  it  was  right  to  have  the  injunc- 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 65 

tion  dissolved  and  to  declare  ourselves  at  peace  with  the  world 
in  general  and  Ebenezer  (the  church  formed  by  the  former 
pastor)  in  particular,  without  discussing  the  whys  and  where- 
fores of  the  matter. 

To  confirm  this  report  the  Olivet  Church,  through 
its  clerk,  Brother  Richard  Williams,  in  reply  to  an 
"  Unknown  Baptist  Preacher  on  the  History  of  the 
Ebenezer  Baptist  Church,"  whose  words  appeared  in 
the  "  Conservator,"  March  7,  1903,  said  that,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  fact  that  Mr.  Fisher  was  not  a  party  to 
the  fight  in  the  church  last  year,  "  our  pastor  has  ad- 
vised us  to  let  Ebenezer  and  Rev.  Thomas  alone." 

The  reason  for  this  is  clear.  Mr.  Fisher  did  not 
have  the  time  nor  the  energy  to  waste  in  fighting.  All 
of  his  powers  at  this  critical  time  were  required  for  the 
constructive  work  which  was  so  needful.  There  was 
not  a  song-book,  Bible,  chair,  or  anything  in  the 
church.  The  congregation  was  out-of-doors  with  no 
visible  way  to  enter  the  building.  However,  the  pas- 
tor-elect loaned  his  last  dollar  to  the  church,  and  they 
were  able  to  rent  the  partially  completed  edifice  for 
sixty-five  dollars  a  month.  A  registration  of  all  the 
members  was  taken,  and  an  enrolment  of  nearly  six 
hundred  was  the  result.  Here  was  a  nucleus  large 
enough  around  which  to  build  a  temple  of  untold  pos- 
sibilities. The  work  was  going  on  but  not  without  a 
contest  of  words. 

Glaring  headlines  characterized  the  issue  of  the 
"  Broadax  "  for  May  30,  1903,  reading,  "  THEO- 


66 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

DORE  W.  JONES  SAYS  THAT  REV.  E.  J. 
FISHER  MISMANAGES  THE  AFFAIRS  OF 
OLIVET": 

Perhaps  no  other  community  and  not  another  church  large 
or  small  would  copy  the  generous  method  of  the  Olivet 
Church  of  this  city  in  dealing  with  a  jack-leg  preacher.  In 
many  other  places  he  would  be  made  to  pay  the  penalty  for 
ignorance,  error,  and  wrong-doing  by  being  driven  out  of  town. 
But  in  Chicago,  and  at  Olivet,  he  may  go  practically  un- 
whipped  of  justice.  .  . 

The  Rev.  E.  J.  Fisher,  through  whose  gross  mismanagement 
the  Olivet  Church  has  just  lost  $2 1 ,000,  and  who  conscious 
of  having  such  a  bad  case  on  his  hands  has  actually  opened  a 
revival  meeting,  not  out  of  love  for  the  Master,  not  for  the 
salvation  of  a  single  soul,  but  merely  to  detract  attention  from 
himself.  If  this  show  with  all  its  acts  is  not  sacrilegious,  I  do 
not  know  what  it  can  be.  But  it  signally  illustrates  a  jack- 
legged  preacher's  alertness  and  resourcefulness  in  a  case  of 
emergency. 

To  call  a  man  like  Fisher  honest  is  like  calling  black  white 
or  eulogizing  the  devil  as  a  noble  character.  By  honesty,  I  do 
not  mean  simply  scrupulous  exactness  in  accounting  for  moneys 
collected.  In  this  article  I  wish,  especially,  to  apply  the  word 
to  Fisher's  attitude  in  opening  a  revival  at  this  time. 

The  whole  article  from  beginning  to  end  shows  an 
unfamiliarity  with  the  facts  in  the  case.  That  the 
church  was  to  receive  fifteen  thousand  dollars  as  a  gift 
from  an  unknown  donor  if  they  could  raise  six  thou- 
sand dollars  was  known  to  the  treasurer,  Deacon 
Henry  Elby,  long  before  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  came  to 
Chicago. 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER _67 

Chicago,  III.,  June  21,  1 90 1 . 
Mr.  H.  T.  Elby, 
Chicago,  111. 

Dear  Sir: 

Had  an  interview  with  the  party  we  were  speaking  of,  and 
he  said  that  he  had  heard  of  that  congregation  before,  and  that 
they  were  not  deserving  but  that  he  felt  kindly  toward  them. 

We  will  wait  for  him,  Henry,  to  consider  the  matter,  and 
I  will  make  this  proposition  to  you,  but  my  name  must  not  be 
mentioned  to  any  one  for  reasons  that  I  have  stated  to  you 
before. 

If  the  congregation,  Henry,  that  you  are  with  will  com- 
mence and  raise  from  the  first  of  July,  1 90 1 ,  to  January  1 , 
1902,   the  sum  of  six  thousand  dollars    ($6,000)    honestly 

I  will  donate  to  you  for  the  Olivet  congregation,  the  sum  of 
fifteen  thousand  dollars  ($15,000),  to  be  used  in  finishing 
their  edifice  or  canceling  their  indebtedness. 

If  this  proposition  is  agreeable  to  your  Pastor,  executive 
officers,  and  congregation,  notify  me  at  once  so  that  I  can  then 
place  the  amount  above  mentioned  at  the  disposal  of  the  execu- 
tive officer  of  Olivet  Baptist  Church,  if  they  can  meet  the  re- 
quirement as  to  the  raising  of  the  amount  above  mentioned. 

Yours  very  truly, 

C.  L.  xxxx. 

There  is  something  mysterious  about  the  signature, 
familiarity,  and  contents  in  this  letter.  Only  Mr. 
Elby  could  decipher  it.  The  donor  had  not  been 
known  prior  to  the  installation  services  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Fisher.     On  that  night  he  arose  and  said :  "  Out  of 


68  THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

regard  to  Mr.  Elby  and  my  respect  to  this  present 
pastor,  I  come.  I  believe  your  pastor  is  a  worthy  gen- 
tleman, and  we  are  going  to  do  everything  to  help  the 
church  under  him  to  prosper." 

For  three  months  Mr.  Elby  negotiated  with  this 
party  so  that  the  six  thousand  dollars  raised  was  gone 
and  Elby  himself  arrested.  The  "  Chicago  Daily 
News  "  reported  a  half-column  item  under  the  head- 
ing "  ELBY,  CONVICTED  TREASURER  OF 
OLIVET  (COLORED)  BAPTIST  CHURCH, 
CONFESSES": 

Henry  T.  Elby  [it  said] ,  convicted  of  embezzling  $6,000 
of  the  funds  of  Olivet  Baptist  Church,  colored,  told  today  how 
he  had  been  duped  by  two  white  men  who  worked  on  his 
credulity  and  made  his  eyes  glisten  by  the  use  of  the  name  of 
John  D.  Rockefeller.  They  persuaded  him,  he  said,  to  tell 
the  church  Mr.  Rockefeller  would  give  the  congregation 
$15,000  toward  a  debt  of  $28,000  if  the  members  would 
raise  $6,000.  They  called  the  Standard  Oil  Magnate 
"  John."  They  shone  at  church  "  sociables  "  and  posed  as 
capitalists.  One  of  them,  said  Elby,  got  him  to  pay  an  instal- 
ment on  a  suit  of  clothes  so  as  to  impress  the  colored  church 
folk. 

Now  Elby  faces  the  penitentiary.  He  says  he  does  not 
want  a  new  trial.  But  Judge  Chytraus  has  ordered  Assistant 
State's  Attorney  John  R.  Newcomer  to  lay  before  the  present 
grand  jury  the  names  of  the  two  white  men.  The  judge  said 
the  men  should  be  indicted. 

Elby  made  a  complete  confession  today  to  a  reporter  for  the 
"  Daily  News,"  in  the  presence  of  Deputy  Sheriff  Wesley 
Blummer,  and  laid  bare  the  story  of  intrigue  and  manipulations 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 69 

of  the  funds  the  church  raised.  One  of  the  white  men  involved 
is  said  by  Elby  to  be  an  oil-stock  promoter  named  Kinney. 
Elby  introduced  Kinney  to  the  congregation  and  trustees  as 
"  Mr.  Belcalf,  a  friend  of  John  D.  Rockefeller."  The  other 
man  is  known  to  Elby  and  the  church-members  as  "J.  Der- 
riger." 

"  I  first  met  this  man,  Derriger,  in  a  lawyer's  office,"  said 
Elby.  "  I  was  trying  then  to  stave  off  a  lawsuit  against  the 
church  of  which  I  was  treasurer.  Derriger  was  there  and 
learned  from  me  our  trouble  with  the  church  debt.  He  said 
he  was  in  sympathy  with  the  colored  people,  informed  me  he 
was  a  wealthy  man  and  would  help  us  by  donating  a  large 
amount  to  the  church.  Derriger  put  up  the  scheme  of  writing 
the  letter  which  purported  to  come  from  Rockefeller.  Then 
we  went  to  fix  up  a  certified  check  to  show  that  Rockefeller 
was  in  earnest  about  the  donation  and  that  it  was  ours  if  the 
church  raised  the  required  $6,000.  I  went  to  Kinney  and  he 
made  out  the  check  at  my  request,  and  right  here  is  where  I 
got  into  trouble." 

From  this  testimony  it  is  easy  to  understand  the  con- 
tents of  the  following  letter : 

Chicago,  III.,  April  18,  1903. 
Mr.  Henry  T.  Elby, 
66  State  Street,  Chicago. 

Dear  Sir: 

After  having  a  pleasant  interview  with  the  Doctor  (Fisher) 
and  yourself,  I  suggested  what  was  said  to  Father  (Mr.  Rocke- 
feller). Knowing  that  he  (Rev.  Fisher)  is  firm  in  all  matters 
of  that  kind,  and  would  act  just  as  I  did.  Finally  he  con- 
sented to  have  our  attorney  to  meet  the  attorney  for  the  church, 
if  so  desired,  and  have  him  to  explain  his  plans  so  that  the 


70 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

same  could  be  handed  to  Father.  This  will  be  attended  to 
in  a  few  days.  We  wish  earnestly  to  impress  that  we  have 
no  desire  to  keep  what  is  coming  to  the  congregation  in  trust, 
if  you  wish  the  same,  but  we  would  like  for  you  people  to  take 
good  business  advice.  Please  wait  patiently  for  a  reply  from 
Father  and  myself. 

Sincerely  yours, 

O.  W.  Belcalf. 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  imagine  the  amount  of  good 
that  this  controversy  did  in  cementing  the  people  to 
Rev.  Mr.  Fisher.  Still,  there  is  exemplified  here  a 
tendency  which  is  all  too  common  among  a  people 
embarrassed  by  foes  within  and  without.  Somewhere, 
some  time,  and  somehow,  the  Negro  press  should,  un- 
requited, take  up  the  burdens  heaped  upon  leaders 
unnecessarily  by  persons  who  are  beside  themselves. 
A  better  place  has  not  been  named  than  Chicago,  "  no 
time  is  like  the  present,"  and  no  method  is  more  fitting 
than  that  which  could  be  employed  by  the  "  race's 
greatest  weekly." 

Abuse  did  not  intimidate  Mr.  Fisher,  ingratitude 
did  not  embitter  him,  misrepresentation  did  not  anger 
him,  for  he  was  able  to  say  with  Paul,  "  None  of  these 
things  move  me;  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto  my- 
self, so  that  I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy,  and  the 
ministry  which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus." 
Each  Sunday  as  he  graced  his  pulpit  he  showed  tre- 
mendous power,  not  passing  a  single  Sunday  without 
some  accession  to  the  church.     Time  and  again  he 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 7J_ 

invited  city  pastors  to  preach  for  him,  showing  his  un- 
selfishness and  brotherliness.  Many  times  they  re- 
sponded, and  God  would  manifest  himself  in  the  midst 
always  by  several  accessions.  Through  the  "  Ban- 
ner," a  paper  founded  and  edited  by  Pastor  Fisher, 
"  to  diffuse  religious  truth  in  love  through  the  flock  and 
whoever  else  should  desire  it,"  we  note  that  on  the 
third  Sunday  in  May,  1903,  when  the  Rev.  W.  S. 
Bradden,  of  Berean,  and  the  Rev.  B.  P.  E.  Gayles, 
of  Evanston,  filled  the  pulpit  of  Olivet,  twelve  souls 
were  added  to  the  church. 

In  spite  of,  and  probably  because  of,  the  splendid 
success  coming  to  the  church,  frequent  disturbances 
and  outside  influences  were  trying  to  counteract  the 
works  of  God.  Again  an  open  letter  to  the  "  Broad- 
ax,"  June  27,  1903,  furnished  the  news-stands  with 
this  headline:  "WILLIAM  JEFFERSON  TRI- 
UMPHS OVER  REV.  E.  J.  FISHER  OF 
OLIVET  BAPTIST  CHURCH."  Recalling  that 
Mr.  Jefferson  delivered  the  welcome  greetings  at  the 
installation  of  Mr.  Fisher,  you  can  appreciate  his 
change  of  view  in  respect  to  the  pastor  of  the  Olivet 
Church : 

Rev.  Fisher,  Brothers  Wimby,  Edwards,  Elby,  Williams, 
and  Griffin  were  in  the  pastor's  study  about  1  1  o'clock  at 
night,  when  they  heard  a  loud  and  "  improper  noise  tending 
to  the  breach  of  the  peace."  Upon  investigation  it  was  learned 
that  this  loud  and  improper  noise  was  headed  for  the  church 
...  in  the  person  of  Brother  Jefferson. 


72 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

Doctor  Fisher  was  so  frightened  that  he  was  not  in  a  fit 
condition  to  make  an  accurate  description  as  he  surveyed  the 
enemy,  yet  he  probably  drew  a  mental  picture  of  a  monster, 
half  dragon,  with  "  feet  like  a  bear,  and  a  mouth  as  the  mouth 
of  a  lion."  Fortunately,  instead  of  making  an  unlawful  and 
wilful  attack  on  the  door  of  the  church,  the  beast  merely  opened 
his  mouth,  not  in  blasphemy  against  God,  as  did  the  Revela- 
tor's  beast,  but  in  a  threat  to  make  Doctor  Fisher  jump  in  Lake 
Michigan.  After  this  tendency  to  a  "  breach  of  peace  "  that 
loud  and  improper  noise  moved  slowly  down  Twenty-seventh 
Street,  much  to  the  satisfaction  and  evident  relief  of  Doctor 
Fisher  and  his  panic-stricken  officers.  About  an  hour  later 
these  *'  tin  soldiers  "  formed  themselves  into  a  hollow  square 
and  escorted  the  Rev.  Doctor  Fisher  to  Mrs.  Knuckles'  home, 
two  of  the  brethren  remaining  the  rest  of  the  night  as  a  body- 
guard. 

This  description  is  interesting  in  detail,  and  surely 
the  writer  had  a  vivid  imagination,  but  he  pictures  only 
one  of  the  many  incidents  of  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher's  an- 
tagonism. He  forgot  to  mention  the  individual  who 
not  only  shot  words  but  bullets  at  the  innocent 
preacher.  To  this  day  the  bullet-hole  in  the  study  of 
the  old  church  home  is  a  memorial  to  the  trials  of 
Pastor  Fisher.  For  many  months  he  was  heavily 
guarded  on  his  way  home.  Added  to  this,  the  sheriff 
was  at  his  door  serving  warrants  almost  as  often  as  the 
weeks  passed. 

To  the  casual  reader  this  statement  might  seem 
strange,  but  to  those  connected  with  a  Negro  Baptist 
church  it  is  a  common  thing  for  civil  authorities  to 
manifest  their  power  in  ecclesiastical  affairs.     Proba- 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 73 

bly  a  weakness  of  the  democratic  form  of  government 
with  untrained  people!  But  where  democracy  is  per- 
verted into  mobocracy  there  follow  warrants  and  im- 
prisonment in  religious  as  well  as  in  civil  life.  A  col- 
ored brother  imprisoned  by  an  impassioned  faction  in 
his  church  remarked  that  Paul  and  Silas  were  put  in 
jail  for  preaching  the  gospel  and  that  if  ministers 
preached  the  right  kind  of  gospel  they  too  would  be 
arrested.  Undoubtedly,  Mr.  Fisher  was  a  gospel 
messenger. 

Like  all  pioneers  in  new  thought  and  endeavor, 
martyrdom  was  his  lot.  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  realized  this 
and  saw  the  old  prophet's  "  bow  that  is  in  the  cloud  in 
the  day  of  rain."  At  the  present  day  few  know  of 
the  reproaches  heaped  upon  the  heads  of  Livingston, 
Howard,  or  Whitefield,  but  all  men  recognize  them  as 
leaders  in  the  Zion  of  our  God,  whose  services  and 
names  will  be  held  in  everlasting  remembrance. 
Hardships  the  Reverend  Fisher  endured,  but  none  of 
these  things  can  be  compared  with  the  favor  of  pos- 
terity recognizing  him  as  the  foundation  builder  among 
Negro  Baptists  in  the  Northwest.  Impressive  is  the 
superstructure  even  now,  but  far  sweeter  will  be  the 
plaudits  of  his  Saviour,  who  at  judgment-day  will 
make  up  the  crown  of  his  everlasting  rejoicing  with  the 
jeweled  souls  redeemed  through  his  instrumentality. 
The  sacrifice  was  worth  while. 

After  months  of  misrepresentations,  struggles,  trials, 
and  persecutions,  the  dawn  of  relief  arose.    Beelzebub 


74 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

was  chained  for  a  season.  For  the  first  time  the  pas- 
tor had  an  opportunity  to  reflect  that  Illinois  was  a 
place  where  men  had  a  constitutional  chance  to  be 
free.  The  very  atmosphere  of  the  State  where  Love- 
joy  was  murdered  and  Lincoln  lay  buried  was  scintil- 
lating with  liberty.  Pastor  Fisher's  interpretation  of 
this  was  that  it  should  not  be  confined  to  religion  but 
extended  to  politics  as  well.  Many  men  in  his  posi- 
tion would  have  thought  that  for  the  church  to  suc- 
ceed religiously,  it  must  not  be  a  social  or  political 
factor,  but  this  idea  has  been  refuted  largely  by  the 
number  of  institutional  churches  that  have  multiplied. 
He  believed  that  with  religion  first,  there  was  no  form 
of  activity  in  which  the  church  should  not  indulge. 
This  was  a  good  Baptistic  view  for  a  pioneer,  since  the 
founder  of  the  Baptist  denomination  in  America, 
Roger  Williams,  was  chosen  President  (Governor)  of 
Rhode  Island. 

Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  as  a  pioneer  in  the  Northwest  fol- 
lowed in  his  political  wake.  This  provoked  storms  of 
opposition,  but  as  long  as  the  religious  part  of  the 
church  was  first,  and  nothing  was  taken  away  from 
that,  he  continued  to  exercise  his  talents  in  the  field  of 
religion,  sociology,  and  politics.  From  the  time  of  his 
first  arrival  in  Chicago,  Pastor  Fisher  began  to  partici- 
pate in  the  politics  of  the  city. 

Hon.  Jesse  A.  Baldwin  sent  a  due  appreciation  for 
efforts  in  his  behalf  for  municipal  office  in  a  letter  dated 
June  11,  1903: 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 75 

Dear  Dr.  Fisher: 

I  beg  you  to  accept  my  sincere  thanks  for  the  aid  you  ren- 
dered and  the  cordial  support  you  gave  me  in  my  recent  cam- 
paign. .  .  That  I  received  so  large  a  vote,  under  all  the  cir- 
cumstances, is  due  to  the  very  active  efforts  of  my  friends  and, 
among  the  number,  yourself  who  so  generously  and  actively 
advocated  my  election.  My  campaign  was  conducted  without 
dishonorable  or  disreputable  methods.  .  .  I  shall  ever  remember 
with  gratitude  your  cordial  and  generous  support. 

Mr.  Fisher  headed  the  list  of  Negro  voters  in  the 
twenty-second  precinct  of  the  Second  Ward  and  was 
sure  to  advise  them  along  the  right  lines.  He  was  in- 
terested solely  in  the  good  of  the  people  and  meant  to 
advocate  "  every  measure  of  right  and  denounce  every 
measure  of  wrong."  He  was  not  office-seeking  nor 
was  he  willing  to  run  after  candidates ;  he  wished  sim- 
ply to  find  out  the  policy  of  the  candidate,  and  if  it 
was  right  to  advise  the  people.  A  letter  from  the 
headquarters  of  Hon.  Charles  S.  Deneen,  a  candidate 
for  governor  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  follows : 

Chicago,  April  8,  1 904. 
My  dear  Sir: 

If  you  could  find  it  convenient  to  call  at  these  headquarters 
and  see  Mr.  Deneen,  Mr.  West,  or  myself,  we  would  very 
much  appreciate  it. 

Hoping  that  this  will  find  you  enjoying  good  health,  I  am 

Very  truly  yours, 

James  Pease. 

G 


76 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

He  answered  on  April  9,  1 904 : 

Hon.  James  Pease, 
Grand  Pacific  Hotel, 
Chicago,  111. 

My  dear  Sir: 

Yours  of  the  eighth  instant  to  hand  and  contents  carefully 
noted.  In  reply  I  would  say  that  I  would  gladly  converse 
with  either  or  all  of  you  gentlemen.  You  did  not  state  whether 
you  have  any  particular  hour,  therefore,  I  am  not  in  a  posi- 
tion to  say  when  I  could  call.  I  could  spend  thirty  minutes 
with  either  of  you  Tuesday  at  10.30  a.  m.,  in  getting  certain 
information  that  I  very  much  need  for  myself  and  my  people. 

I  have  heard  much  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Deneen  and  I  am 
pleased  with  his  past  record  as  a  citizen  and  as  a  bold  and 
fearless  statesman.  I  admire  these  qualities  in  a  leader  of  my 
country. 

Now  as  the  duties  of  my  pastorate  are  so  numerous  I  shall 
await  your  coming  and  gladly  welcome  you  at  the  study  of 
the  Olivet  Church,  Twenty-seventh  and  Dearborn  Streets, 
Tuesday  at  10.30. 

Respectfully, 

E.  J.  Fisher. 

The  conference  was  held  and  Pastor  Fisher  was 
able  with  twenty-three  other  Negroes  to  sign  "  A 
Word  to  Colored  Voters,  Endorsing  Charles  S.  De- 
neen for  Governor  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  in  the  prima- 
ries of  May  6,  1904." 

Of  course  such  a  participation  on  the  part  of  a  Bap- 
tist minister  called  out  severe  disapproval  from  many 
of  his  brethren,  but  he  exercised  liberty  of  conscience, 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 7J_ 

believing  that  he  must  give  an  account  to  God  for  op- 
portunities to  help  his  race  and  country.  His  belief  in 
righteousness  was  catholic.  He  believed  in  personal 
righteousness  in  individual  conduct,  domestic  righteous- 
ness in  business,  and  civic  righteousness  in  the  State. 
There  was  and  is  little  use  standing  aloof  from  the 
reforms  of  the  State  and  deploring  the  failure  of  right 
living  in  modern  life  when  a  man  is  needed  to  stand 
four-square  on  all  matters  of  the  gospel,  even  if  his 
stand  calls  for  active  participation  in  political  move- 
ments. However  much  antagonism  was  brought 
about,  it  is  an  evident  fact  that  those  churches  which 
failed  to  carry  out  this  policy  of  right  living  even  by 
example  failed  to  progress  in  so  marked  a  degree  as 
those  which  stood  for  the  purification  of  life  in  every 
form. 

Whether  this  progress  was  due  to  interest  in  politi- 
cal affairs  or  in  spite  of  this  participation,  we  note  with 
a  great  deal  of  interest  that  the  Rev.  E.  J.  Fisher  and 
the  Rev.  A.  J.  Carey,  D.  D.,  now  a  bishop  in  the 
African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  two  active  par- 
ticipants in  Republican  circles,  were  leaders  in  their 
denominations  in  hastening  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord. 

The  reward  of  Pastor  Fisher  was  not  wholly  in 
the  future,  for  more  and  more  were  his  Methodist 
brethren  and  white  friends  speaking  kindly  of  his  work 
for  God.  During  the  Lexington  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  he  delivered  an  address 
in  behalf  of  the  Negro  Baptists.    The  Annual  Report 


78 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

of  the  Baptist  City  Mission  Society  for  the  year  end- 
ing 1 903  speaks  of  the  Olivet  Church  in  these  terms : 

We  are  not  rendering  assistance  on  this  field  at  the  present 
time,  except  in  the  way  of  advice.  As  most  of  you  know, 
after  fifty  years  of  existence  as  a  church,  and  after  purchasing 
a  lot,  and  partially  completing  a  beautiful  and  commodious 
building,  the  property  has  been  sold  under  foreclosure  of  mort- 
gage, and  they  are  paying  rent.  Two  persons  are  contending 
in  the  Supreme  Court  for  possession.  It  is  expected  that  the 
ownership  will  be  settled  next  month.  At  that  time  the  pas- 
tor, Doctor  Fisher,  hopes  to  be  able  to  purchase  the  property, 
and  thereby  prevent  it  from  being  used  as  a  storage  warehouse. 
It  will  require  $2 1 ,000  to  do  this.  They  do  not  ask  for  a 
gift,  but  for  a  time  loan  in  order  that  they  may  be  able  to  meet 
the  demands  made  upon  them  next  month.  They  are  accumu- 
lating funds  and  placing  the  same  in  the  care  of  our  Superin- 
tendent. The  lot  cost  $13,000,  and  the  contract  was  let  to 
erect  the  building  at  a  cost  of  $43,000.  It  will  cost  at  least 
$  1 0,000  to  complete  it.  A  conservative  estimate  of  the  prop- 
erty is  $28,000. 

The  task  of  Olivet  was  indeed  gigantic.  No  oppor- 
tunity could  be  spared  in  putting  the  facts  in  view  of  all 
sympathizers  regardless  of  race. 

Englewood  Baptist  Church  of  Chicago, 
5 1  3  West  Sixty-second  Street, 

October  16,  1903. 
Dr.  E.  J.  Fisher. 

My  dear  Brother: 

Doctor  Manning  tells  me  that  you  have  consented  to  speak 
at  the  Englewood  Baptist  Church  in  our  City  Mission  Sym- 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 79 

posium  on  Sunday  a.  m.,  October  25.  My  assistant,  Rev. 
A.  A.  Hobson,  who  is  a  good  speaker,  will  preach  for  the 
Olivet  Baptist  Church.  Will  you  kindly  drop  me  a  line  so 
I  may  know  this  plan  is  all  right? 

Sincerely, 

H.  Francis  Perry,  Minister. 

This  plan  met  the  hearty  approval  of  Pastor  Fisher. 
Although  the  minister  was  held  in  high  esteem,  as  can 
be  gleaned  from  a  letter  from  a  representative  of  The 
American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society,  Olivet  had 
to  come  into  contact  with  those  who  could  help. 

Chicago,  III.,  October  29,  1903. 
To  Whom  It  May  Concern : 

This  letter  certifies  that  I  am  personally  acquainted  with 
Dr.  E.  J.  Fisher,  the  present  pastor  of  the  Olivet  Baptist 
Church  of  this  city.  He  is  a  graduate  of  our  Home  Mission 
School  in  Atlanta,  Georgia,  and  for  some  years  was  one  of 
our  trustees  of  our  Spelman  Seminary  in  Atlanta.  Doctor 
Morehouse,  during  his  recent  visit  in  this  city,  spoke  in  high 
terms  of  the  business  ability  of  Mr.  Fisher  and  expressed  him- 
self as  feeling  confident  that  the  Olivet  Baptist  Church  here 
would  clear  its  property  of  indebtedness  and  be  established  in 
the  community  should  Doctor  Fisher's  life  be  spared  for  this 
work. 

I  have  known  the  struggles  of  the  Olivet  Baptist  Church 
here  for  the  past  eight  years  and  feel,  for  the  first  time  during 
these  years,  confident  that  it  will  become  financially  and  per- 
manently established  if  Doctor  Fisher  is  spared  and  if  his  ap- 
peal to  the  brethren  is  responded  to.  I  trust  that  all  who  can 
will  help  in  this  matter  according  to  their  ability. 

Judson  B.  Thomas,  Dist.  Sec'y. 


80      THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

Olivet  Church  had  a  facsimile  of  this  letter  printed 
and  with  a  statement  from  the  clerk,  Brother  Thomas 
W.  Stevens,  concerning  the  exact  state  of  affairs,  ad- 
dressed these  communications  to  the  people.  The 
statement  read : 

You  have  doubtless  seen  through  the  daily  papers  of  the 
loss  of  six  thousand  dollars  ($6,000)  to  the  Olivet  Baptist 
Church  by  embezzlement  of  our  treasurer.  The  loss  is  very 
great.  It  caused  the  foreclosure  of  the  mortgage  and  the  sale 
of  our  beautiful  house  of  worship  on  Twenty-seventh  and 
Dearborn  Streets.  We  are  twenty-one  thousand  dollars 
($2 1 ,000)  in  debt.  We  are  struggling  to  the  extent  of  our 
ability  to  raise  the  money  to  buy  the  church  back. 

The  Supreme  Court  has  confirmed  the  decision  of  the  lower 
court  in  giving  the  property  back  to  us  for  the  sum  of  ten 
thousand  eight  hundred  fifteen  dollars  ($10,815)  provided 
we  settle  all  of  the  outstanding  claims  first.  This  we  are  en- 
deavoring to  do  and  therefore  ask  that  you  donate  some  amount 
to  help  pay  this  debt,  as  we  only  have  sixty  days  from  date 
to  meet  the  requirement. 

The  effect  of  this  plea  and  the  recommendations  of 
the  white  brethren  can  be  seen  later  in  the  marvelous 
way  in  which  the  occasion  was  met.  All  through  this 
endeavor  it  is  not  hard  to  hear  the  workings  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Fisher's  brain.  He  had  schooled  his  workers, 
laid  his  plans,  and  successfully  executed  them. 

Marked  attainment  had  been  achieved  for  Christ 
in  this  year  of  kaleidoscopic  turmoil.  Of  souls  there 
had  been  won  more  than  a  hundred.  The  financial 
offerings  of  the  church  were  triple  that  of  any  pre- 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER S\_ 

vious  year.  The  people  were  well  pleased  with  their 
minister,  but  Mr.  Fisher  had  commenced  to  wonder 
if  it  was  God's  will  that  he  should  remain  in  Chicago. 
Churches  in  the  Southland  were  asking  for  his  gui- 
dance. Atlanta  was  financially  outbidding  Chicago. 
He  might  have  played  the  role  of  a  quitter,  but  he 
had  an  aversion  to  what  Doctor  Benedict,  in  his 
"  Fifty  Years  Among  the  Baptists,"  calls  "  Mr.  Stay- 
short  "  preacher.  What  would  it  take  to  be  a  success 
in  this  field?  Success  could  not  come  because  of  his 
descent,  for  his  race  had  been  forced  into  slavery  and 
cursed  ever  since  for  having  been  slaves.  It  could  not 
come  because  of  his  surroundings,  for  there  was  not  a 
more  discussed  public  servant.  Success  must  come  of 
himself.  A  man  thus  situated  needed  to  possess  in  an 
eminent  degree  the  force  of  strong  convictions,  an  un- 
yielding purpose,  clear  perception,  economical  habits, 
imperturbable  self-possession,  a  working  knowledge 
of  Negro-ology,  a  constitution  of  iron,  a  humble  spirit, 
and  a  firm  reliance  on  the  sustaining  grace  of  God. 

There  were  encouraging  moments  even  in  the  dark- 
est hours  of  reflection.  He  was  granted  certain  cour- 
tesies by  railroads  to  any  points  he  desired  to  go,  and 
his  endorsement  was  necessary  in  order  that  Negro 
Baptist  preachers  get  clergy  permits.  This  privilege 
and  honor  created  dissension  rather  than  unity  among 
some  older  and  more  aspiring  brethren,  but  he  would 
not  be  discouraged.  Testimonials  of  appreciation 
from  the  denomination  were  coming  every  day.     In 


82 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

the  mail  of  January  31,1 904,  came  a  letter  from  the 
Tuskegee  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute  dated  the 
twenty-eighth  instant : 

My  dear  Mr.  Fisher: 

I  have  your  kind  letter  of  January  2 1  and  thank  you  for  it. 

I  have  read  of  the  commendable  progress  your  church  has 
made  since  your  pastorate,  and  I  congratulate  you  on  the 
results. 

Although  I  have  already  formally  accepted  an  invitation  to 
speak  under  certain  auspices  I  shall  keep  in  mind  your  sug- 
gestion, and  shall  hope  to  have  a  chance  to  go  to  your  church. 
If  I  can  do  so  I  shall  esteem  it  a  privilege,  I  assure. 

Thanking  you  very  sincerely  for  the  kindly  courtesy  evi- 
denced in  your  letter,  and  for  the  expression  of  interest  in  our 
work,  I  am 

Very  truly  yours, 

Booker  T.  Washington. 

Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  resolved  that  it  was  his  duty  to  re- 
main where  he  was.  How  well  it  was  for  the  church 
no  one  acquainted  with  its  history  need  be  informed. 

John  the  Baptist,  and  his  theme  of  repentance,  were 
eminently  adapted  to  herald  the  coming  Messiah. 
Wesley  could  do  a  task  different  from  John  in  awaken- 
ing Christendom  to  the  necessity  of  organized  forms  of 
religious  endeavor.  Luther  was  given  strong  sinews 
like  bands  of  steel  so  that  he  might  strike  with  his 
Thor's  hammer  of  free  speech  on  the  anvil  of  the  new 
order  scintillating  sparks  of  Protestantism  that  would 
kindle   the   heart   of   modern   Europe.      Providence 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 83 

called  Mr.  Fisher  to  the  Olivet  Baptist  Church,  and  a 
recognition  of  his  characteristics  proves  his  personal  fit- 
ness to  arch  his  sail  to  a  stormy  gale,  so  that  like 
Coleridge's  Mariner  "  he  was  the  first  that  ever  burst 
into  that  lonely  sea." 

He  appreciated  the  sentiment  in  the  letter  from  Dr. 
J.  Milton  Waldron:  "  I  was  delighted  to  hear  from 
you  and  am  very  glad  you  are  not  to  leave  Chicago, 
for  you  are  needed  there." 

Having  decided  to  stay,  he  saw  his  bitter  antagonists 
paid  with  a  vengeance  divine.  The  paper  that  had 
been  so  uncharitable  had  almost  become  extinct.  He 
lived  to  see  the  editor  assigned  to  the  asylum  for  the 
insane.  His  arch-enemies  failed  in  business  and  had  to 
seek  to  work  their  chicanery  in  other  cities.  Elby  was 
still  imprisoned.  Still,  through  it  all,  Mr.  Fisher  was 
not  exultant;  he  sympathized.  He  immediately  set  to 
work  to  have  Elby  released.  He  introduced  and 
signed  the  petition.  In  reference  to  this  and  other 
Christian  acts  a  periodical  quoted  before  says  of  him : 

His  faults  abound  in  his  virtues;  he  is  too  charitable  to  his 
foes ;  he  is  too  merciful  to  those  who  dislike  him.  and  he  is  too 
broad  to  those  who  antagonize  his  efforts. 

Undoubtedly,  the  writer  overlooked  the  fact  that 
Pastor  Fisher  was  striving  after  that  sweet  charity 
which  suffereth  long  and  is  kind,  which  thinketh  no 
evil,  rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity,  but  beareth  all  things, 
hopeth  all  things,  and  endureth  all  things. 


84 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

At  the  commencement  exercises  of  Guadalupe  Col- 
lege, Sequin,  Texas,  in  May  of  1904,  Mr.  Fisher  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  None  but  a 
very  eminent  divine  could  have  well  refused  such  a 
distinction,  if  he  were  so  inclined,  without  seeming  to 
encourage  the  notice  which  he  desired  humbly  to 
avoid. 

Tuesday,  November  8,  was  election  day,  and  ar- 
rangements were  made  with  the  Western  Union  Tele- 
graph Company  to  connect  wires  and  place  an  opera- 
tor in  the  church'  in  order  that  the  congregation  and 
friends  might  receive  the  returns.  Handbills  were  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  colored  section  of  the  city  to 
this  effect:  "DON'T  GO  TO  BARROOMS 
NOR  TO  PUBLIC  HALLS,  NEITHER 
STAND  ON  THE  STREETS  FOR  THE  RE- 
TURNS, BUT  COME  TO  OLIVET  WHERE 
YOU  CAN  BE  SEATED." 


VI 

THE  CALM 
1904-1910 


THE  CALM 
1904-1910 

The  church  was  moving  along  smoothly.  Besides 
affording  opportunity  for  the  regular  services,  including 
preaching  and  prayer-meetings  and  Bible  classes,  the 
church  was  the  social  center  of  the  community,  the 
place  of  amusement  and  of  gathering  information. 
Even  in  early  years,  Mr.  Fisher  was  in  accord  with  the 
advancement  of  the  times,  encouraging  athletic  con- 
tests and  a  literary  society  where  young  and  old  could 
hear  and  discuss  current  events.  On  New  Year's  day 
the  annual  program  under  the  auspices  of  the  Standard 
Literary  Society  was  rendered  to  commemorate  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation. 

Some  of  the  most  noted  singers,  musicians,  and  en- 
tertainers have  appeared  in  concerts  and  recitals  at  the 
church.  But  the  spiritual  function  of  the  church  was 
always  first.  Before  one  of  the  auxiliaries  enjoyed  it- 
self in  celebrating  the  birthday  of  George  Washington, 
in  1905,  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  administered  the  ordinance 
of  baptism  to  two  young  men  and  a  lady. 

Mr.  Fisher  could  interpret  well  the  characteristics 
of  Negro  religion.  He  knew  that  a  large  part  of  it 
was  only  emotional.  This  fact  could  easily  be  ac- 
counted for  since  the  last  vestiges  of  hysterical  emo- 

87 


88  THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

tionalism,  characterized  by  a  sing-song  chant,  plenty  of 
"  rousement  "  or  "  gravy  "  interrupted  "  continually 
by  the  heavy  groans  and  occasionally  by  the  weird  cry 
of  a  happy  '  mourner,'  "  had  not  had  time  to  die  away. 
He  believed  in  enthusiastic  religion  but  did  not  counte- 
nance a  church  in  demoniac  pandemonium  because 
what  he  was  saying  would  be  lost.  Many  a  time  in 
his  sermons  he  stopped  until  some  sister  finished 
"  shouting,"  and  then  continued.  If,  however,  he 
knew  ill  about  the  past  life  of  the  "  shouter  "  he  would 
ask  her  to  sit  down.  She  would  immediately  obey  but 
would  get  very  angry,  thus  proving  that,  at  best, 
"  shouting  "  was  often  very  superficial,  the  "  shouter  '* 
all  a  sham,  an  empty  wagon  making  much  noise. 

Nevertheless,  his  theology,  appealing  not  primarily 
to  the  blood  that  was  in  the  veins  but  rather  to  the 
brains  that  were  in  the  head,  was  not  a  cold  intellectual 
fact.  It  was  a  potent,  dynamic  factor,  ever  fervent 
and  spiritual,  being  enriched  by  a  life  of  devotion  and 
prayer.  His  preaching  told  the  people  how  to  live 
clean,  honest,  sober  lives,  and  then  they  would  have 
no  trouble  in  getting  ready  to  die.  Too,  he  empha- 
sized the  great  fundamentals  upon  which  the  New 
Testament  church  stands.  The  **  Illinois  Idea  "  for 
February  25,  1905,  writes  concerning  these  doctrinal 
discourses : 

Doctor  Fisher  is  preaching  a  series  of  sermons  that  every 
one  who  wishes  instruction  concerning  the  Baptist  doctrine 
would  do  well  to  go  and  hear.     Each  of  his  sermons  on  last 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 89 

Sunday  showed  the  deepest  research  and  was  delivered  in  the 
grandest  style  to  the  pleasure  of  every  thoughtful  person  present. 
Next  Sabbath  morning  he  will  give  seven  reasons  for  becom- 
ing a  Baptist.  Those  wishing  to  know  why  they  are  Baptists 
would  do  well  to  hear  him.  The  doctor  is  proving  himself 
equal  to  the  task  undertaken.  Many  strong  men  are  uniting 
with  Olivet  each  week.  .  . 

Speaking  as  he  did  upon  such  fundamentals,  it  would 
be  clear  where  he  would  stand  today  on  any  movement 
having  for  its  ultimate  aim  church  unionism : 

Why  have  our  separate  churches,  ministers,  colleges,  etc.? 
Why  not  unite  and  lose  our  existence  into  one  denomination? 
Truly,  I  wish  there  could  be  a  loving,  friendly,  intelligent,  and 
candid  discussion  of  this  subject  by  every  Protestant  denomi- 
nation in  Christendom.  The  generous  public  before  giving 
support  has  a  right  and  should  demand  to  know  a  Scriptural 
reason  for  denominational  separate  existence.  We  hold  that 
to  separate  Christians,  except  on  the  ground  of  pure  Scriptural 
differences,  is  no  just  cause  for  the  existence  of  a  church  and, 
as  Baptists,  we  recognize  the  right  of  the  public  to  know  why 
we  exist  as  a  separate  and  distinct  denomination. 

We  are  willing  gladly  to  answer  for  ourselves.  Some  would 
answer  by  saying  that  this  is  a  land  of  religious  liberty,  and  if 
the  Baptists  wish  to  maintain  a  separate  existence  no  one  has 
a  right  to  object.  Did  we  as  Baptists  exist  only  upon  that, 
our  existence  would  only  be  based  on  a  volition.  As  a  Bap- 
tist, I  deny  such  a  right  and  the  assumption  upon  which  it 
rests.  Religious  liberty  does  not  consist  in  the  right  of  one 
to  do  as  he  pleases  in  religious  matters.  Two  things  must  be 
noted  here:  First,  our  religious  liberty  must  not  run  counter 
to  the  will  of  God  .  .  .  and,  secondly,  our  religious  liberty 
must  not  interfere  with  our  duty  to  our  fellow  men.  .  . 


90 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

There  are  characteristics  supposed  by  others  to  mark  the 
people  that  are  called  Baptist.  .  .  Scores  of  Baptists  have  been 
asked  what  is  the  difference  between  your  and  other  denomina- 
tions. Their  answer  has  simply  been  that  Baptists  believe  in 
immersion.  The  answer,  as  far  as  it  goes,  is  correct,  but  it 
does  not  go  far  enough  and  is  therefore  shallow  and  imperfect. 
Others  have  answered  the  question  by  saying  that  Baptists 
practise  close  communion.  This  statement  is  misleading  and 
superficial.  .  .  Such  an  intelligent  man  as  Doctor  Gotch  care- 
lessly states  the  fundamentals  as  he  has  done  in  the  Encyclo- 
pedia Britannica  by  saying,  "  The  Baptists  as  a  denomination 
are  distinguished  by  the  views  they  hold  respecting  the  ordi- 
nance of  Baptism."  I  declare  unto  you  that  there  is  a  far 
greater  difference  than  this  and  I  shall  endeavor  to  show  it.  .  . 

The  fundamental  principle  is  our  belief  in  the  supreme  au- 
thority and  absolute  sufficiency  of  the  Word  of  God.  Our 
separate  existence  is  a  practical  and  logical  fulfilment  of  the 
commission  from  headquarters  recorded  by  Matthew  28  :  19 
reading,  "  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  disciple  all  nations,  immersing 
them  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I 
have  commanded  you."  The  whole  Bible  is  the  foundation 
upon  which  the  Baptist  church  is  based  and  not  the  decrees  of 
popes,  councils,  assemblies,  conferences,  synods,  presbyteries,  or 
conventions.  We  must  have  for  our  action  a  "  Thus  saith 
the  Lord,"  or  we  are  not  at  all  bound  to  act  regardless  of  who 
gives  the  orders.  .  . 

Relying  on  God's  Word  we  believe  in  a  Scriptural  church, 
hence  a  regenerated  membership;  a  divinely  called  ministry, 
therefore  the  equality  of  the  ministers;  the  Scriptural  offices  of 
pastor  and  deacons;  Scriptural  polity  for  the  church,  viz.,  a 
government  for  the  church,  of  the  church,  and  by  the  church 
alone  according  to  God's  Word ;  the  Scriptural  ordinances,  im- 
mersion and  the  Lord's  Supper,   and  that  only  regenerated 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER _91_ 

church-members  who  are  walking  according  to  the  teachings 
of  the  Word  of  God  should  partake  thereof,  and  we  believe, 
according  to  God's  Word,  that  our  religion  should  be  spiritual, 
direct,  and  practical  instead  of  formal,  mediative,  and  creedal. 

Upon  a  platform  as  comprehensive  as  God's  Word, 
Pastor  Fisher  placed  his  pulpit  and  preached  Jesus  to 
penitent  souls.  The  reason  the  church  progressed  so 
wonderfully  was  that  it  had  for  its  foundation,  Christ, 
and  for  its  message,  the  Word  of  God.  If  it  would 
not  be  too  presumptuous,  it  should  be  worth  while  to 
remark  that  the  Negro  Baptist  churches  and  ministers 
have  had  abiding  success  because  they  have  been 
strong  in  the  faith  "  delivered  once  for  all  to  the 
saints."  If  there  was  any  preeminent  virtue  in  Rev. 
Mr.  Fisher  it  was  his  unflinching  proclamation  of 
Scriptural  principles  wherever  he  went.  He  was  Bap- 
tist born  and  Baptist  bred  and  at  his  death  was  recog- 
nized as  a  Baptist  dead. 

His  emphasis  on  Bible  fundamentals  was  distributed 
equally  over  all  forms  of  endeavor.  Even  in  the  home 
these  principles  were  applied  rather  strictly.  He  was 
the  type  that  did  not  believe  in  the  social  dance,  card- 
parties,  and  theaters.  He  certainly  did  a  great  deal 
to  denounce  these  evils  among  his  children,  so  it  is  easy 
to  understand  how  he  preached  so  vehemently  against 
ihem  at  the  church.  Probably  for  this  reason  his  chil- 
dren did  not  belong  to  the  social  set.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  he  did  not  care  about  his  daughters  having  callers, 
although  he  granted  the  privilege  on  any  night  that 
H 


92 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

there  was  not  some  service  at  the  church.  Now  there 
was  something  at  the  church  every  night  in  the  week, 
and  on  Saturday  evening  all  had  to  study  the  Sunday 
school  lesson.  Quite  strict,  indeed!  but  it  seemed  to 
work  no  alarming  hardships. 

Once  in  a  while  some  noble  knight  did  dare  to  come 
to  the  Castle  Perilous — but  to  think  of  a  gentleman  of 
another  denomination  calling,  no  matter  how  chival- 
rous, was  out  of  the  question.  His  youngest  daughter 
was  keeping  company  with  a  Methodist  gentleman, 
who  came  from  a  family  of  distinguished  churchmen. 
This  was  too  much  for  Mr.  Fisher.  Returning  from 
church  one  week-night,  he  found  the  caller  in  his  par- 
lor. Mrs.  Fisher  was  uneasy,  for  she  knew  something 
was  going  to  happen.  And  just  as  she  had  supposed, 
Mr.  Fisher  taking  no  chance  on  the  penalty  of  having 
"  two  unequally  yoked  "  in  his  family,  politely  asked 
the  caller  to  absent  himself  and  not  to  call  again. 
With  all  of  this  he  loved  his  children  and  did  his  ut- 
most to  make  them  mentally  efficient  for  survival  in 
the  world  struggle. 

The  application  of  the  Scriptural  fundamentals  po- 
litically and  religiously  has  been  stated.  How  he  ap- 
plied them  socially,  let  us  see. 

Twenty-seventh  and  Dearborn  Streets  was  in  the 
center  of  the  most  immoral  section  of  Chicago. 
Painted  and  noisy  prostitutes  combed  the  streets  for 
gold  that  dropped  from  the  hands  of  dissipated 
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ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER  93 

was  "  wide  open."    From  the  brothels  were  converted 
useful  members. 

Conditions  were  so  deplorable  that  some  good 
church-members  occasionally  took  "  a  little  for  the 
stomach's  sake,"  but  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher's  gospel  of 
"  bone  dry  "  soon  found  its  way  home.  Affairs  had 
reached  such  a  shape  that  on  communion  Sundays  the 
deacons  thought  nothing  of  going  to  a  corner  saloon 
and  buying  the  wine  and  substituting  "  Uneeda  Bis- 
cuit "  for  the  broken  body  of  Christ.  An  end  came  to 
this  speedily,  and  the  officers  were  taught  to  make  and 
use  unfermented  wine  and  unleavened  bread.  More- 
over, instead  of  many  of  the  members  getting  their 
spirits  up  by  pouring  spirits  down,  they  let  the  dynamic 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  have  his  way  with  them.  Mayor 
Edward  F.  Dunne  writes : 

June  14,  1905. 
Reverend  and  dear  Sir: 

Your  letter  of  the  tenth  instant  protesting  against  the  con- 
duct of  certain  saloon-keepers  at  Twenty-seventh  and  Dearborn 
Streets,  to  hand.  I  have  referred  the  same  to  the  General 
Superintendent  of  Police  with  instructions  that  orders  be  given 
to  the  proprietors  of  these  saloons  that  they  must  conduct  them 
in  a  quiet  and  orderly  manner  or  their  licenses  will  be  revoked. 

Very  truly  yours, 

E.  F.  Dunne. 

Evidently  the  licenses  were  revoked,  for  in  less  than 
a  year  the  three  dram-shops  on  Twenty-seventh  and 
Dearborn  Streets  were  changed  into  thriving  Negro 


94 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

businesses.  The  back  door  of  the  saloon  on  State 
Street  that  opened  on  Twenty-seventh  Street  was  or- 
dered closed,  and  only  the  front  entrance  was  allowed 
to  be  used. 

More  and  more  eyes  were  turned  toward  Pastor 
Fisher  and  the  Baptists.  His  reputation  as  an  evangel- 
ist followed  him  from  the  Southland;  many  requests 
came  for  his  services.  He  tried  to  fill  them  all,  for  the 
salvation  of  sinners  was  his  purpose  in  the  world.  In 
addition,  twice  yearly  protracted  meetings  were  held  in 
his  own  church,  not  counting  the  evangelistic  sermons 
which  were  preached  from  Sunday  to  Sunday.  The 
marvel  of  the  work  in  Chicago  was  how  the  church 
progressed  so  markedly  when  the  pastor  was  absent 
nearly  a  quarter  of  the  time.  Undoubtedly,  this  pro- 
gress was  due  to  the  machinery  of  organization  and  to 
the  able  assistance  rendered  by  the  Rev.  George  Dun- 
can, the  assistant  pastor,  a  prince  among  Christians, 
Chairman  Stephen  A.  Griffin  and  his  corps  of  efficient 
deacons,  and  the  loyal  members. 

The  National  Baptist  Convention,  with  its  two  mil- 
lion members,  accepted  an  invitation  to  hold  its  twenty- 
fifth  annual  session  in  Chicago,  September  13-19, 
1905,  as  guest  of  the  Olivet  Church.  Pastor  Fisher 
knew  that  this  event  would  do  much  toward  turning 
the  attention  of  Chicago  to  Olivet  and  toward  en- 
lightening the  public  upon  the  doings  of  his  denomina- 
tion. 

In  the  meantime,  a  notable  event  had  taken  place  in 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 95 

March.  Olivet  had  rented  the  church  for  two  years, 
but  this  year  they  had  made  plans  to  buy.  The  news- 
papers flashed  the  incident  throughout  the  city : 

You  have  heard  about  taking  the  rag  off  the  bush  [they 
began] ,  but  that  occasion  [referring  to  the  burning  of  the 
mortgage]  took  the  rag,  bush,  and  all.  There  were  short 
addresses  by  Honorables  S.  B.  Turner,  E.  H.  Wright,  Beau- 
regard F.  Mosely,  Master  in  Chancery  T.  J.  Holes,  the  Rev. 
A.  Madison,  and  the  Rev.  George  Duncan,  assistant  pastor.  .  . 
Dr.  E.  J.  Fisher  presented  the  papers  showing  that  settlements 
had  been  made  and  debts  paid  and  to  whom,  to  the  amount  of 
$18,103.30.  A  tray  was  then  placed,  and  the  mortgage 
papers  were  handed  to  Hon.  S.  B.  Turner,  who  lighted  the 
match  and  started  the  fire.  The  pastor,  Doctor  Fisher,  led  in 
the  singing  of  the  hymn  "  To  the  Work,  To  the  Work." 

The  mortgage  had  been  held  against  the  church  by 
M.  Morava  Vanderpoel  and  Company  since  July  22, 
1897.  It  had  caused  the  church  to  be  sold  and  the 
congregation  to  be  put  out  of  doors.  The  event  was 
notable,  but  no  time  could  be  spared  to  rejoice  with 
such  a  full  program  ahead. 

The  meeting  of  the  National  Convention  was  just  a 
few  months  distant.  A  contract  was  let  for  the  com- 
pletion of  the  house  of  worship  at  a  cost  approximating 
twenty  thousand  dollars.  Workmen  were  busy  night 
and  day  getting  things  in  readiness  for  the  convention. 
An  emergency  appeal  was  sent  to  citizens  of  Chicago 
to  help  financially.  Many  responded,  including 
Messrs.  Frank  O.  Lowclen  and  George  Dixon,  the 


96  THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

Borden  Milk  Company,  Judges  McEwen  and 
Henesy,  and  Mesdames  F.  B.  Blackstone,  O.  Powers, 
and  Clifford  Johnson.  All  receipts  and  disbursements 
were  carefully  audited  by  public  accountants,  and  a 
statement  was  mailed  to  each  donor.  Moses  E. 
Greenbaum,  treasurer  of  Greenbaum  Sons,  Bankers, 
had  charge  of  the  affair. 

Unfortunately,  however,  all  the  work  done  on  the 
structure  would  not  put  it  in  readiness  for  the  Conven- 
tion. The  auditorium  had  only  the  floor  and  interior 
finishings  ready  but  no  pews.  The  roof  had  just  been 
put  on  temporarily.  Olivet  could  only  be  used  as 
headquarters  for  the  Convention;  Ebenezer  Baptist 
Church  accommodated  the  women,  and  the  men  held 
their  meetings  in  the  First  Regiment  Armory.  The 
program  was  one  of  interest,  being  graced  by  Dr. 
Johnston  Myers,  Mayor  Edward  F.  Dunne,  Gov- 
ernor Charles  Deneen,  the  Honorable  Judson  Lyons, 
and  Booker  T.  Washington,  who  needs  no  title. 

The  Olivet  Church  received  a  tremendous  impetus 
during  this  session  of  the  National  Baptist  Convention. 
It  was  not  difficult,  thereafter,  for  her  to  hold  an  ad- 
vanced position  among  the  bodies  of  Christians  in  Chi- 
cago. Still,  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher's  broad-mindedness  and 
liberality  were  attracting  attention  throughout  various 
denominations.  One  colored  brother  came  to  him  for 
aid  in  starting  a  separate  church  in  view  of  founding 
another  denomination.  Mr.  Fisher,  remembering  how 
Providence  had  broken  the  chains  of  slavery   and 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER _97 

stopped  the  lash  of  the  whipping-post,  deemed  it  ex- 
pedient to  be  loyal  to  the  Word  of  God,  so  he  sent  the 
brother  away  with  the  pert  remark,  "  Negroes  have  no 
right  being  anything  but  Baptist." 

The  church  was  fast  nearing  completion.  The  pews 
arrived  early  in  October,  and  day  and  night  were  util- 
ized in  their  erection.  To  the  joy  of  each  member  and 
the  surprise  of  the  public,  the  dedicatory  services  were 
held  the  fifteenth  of  October,  1905.  The  auditorium 
seating  eighteen  hundred  was  filled  to  capacity. 
Everything  betokened  success.  There  were  two  choirs, 
one  in  the  front  of  the  church,  and  one  in  the  rear,  con- 
ducted by  his  daughters.  These  choirs  alternated  in 
their  singing,  giving  rest  and  supplement  to  each  other. 
The  membership  was  divided  between  several  circles 
or  clubs  of  the  church:  Queen  Esther,  Andrewites 
(later  Royal),  Pastor's  Aid,  Helping  Hand,  Willing 
Workers,  and  many  others,  so  that  each  member  could 
have  close  association  with  the  others  and  an  exact 
record  could  be  kept.  Also  a  fraternity,  the  Brother- 
hood of  Andrew  and  Peter,  and  its  auxiliary,  a  so- 
rority, the  sisterhood,  were  well  under  way.  These 
organizations  in  time  of  sickness  paid  each  member  four 
dollars  a  month  and  sixty  dollars  at  death,  with  dues 
of  fifty  cents  a  month.  These  societies  were  not  secret 
but  were  opened  to  any  Christian  who  would  meet  bi- 
monthly to  read  and  meditate  over  God's  Word. 
There  were  young  men's  clubs,  girls'  clubs,  and  a 
mothers'  union  maintained  along  with  the  regular  Sun- 


98  THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

day  school  and  Baptist  Young  People's  Union.  The 
heads  of  the  various  auxiliaries  constituted  a  general 
committee  called  the  Heralds,  which  met  to  plan  with 
the  pastor  the  work  for  each  week. 

Olivet  was  rounding  into  a  machine  running  seven 
days  a  week,  providing  free  employment  for  hundreds, 
a  comfort  station  for  the  weary,  and  divine  worship  for 
thousands.  The  membership  responded  excellently  to 
the  work.  In  August  of  1905,  a  modern  pipe-organ 
was  installed,  and  Professor  W.  Alphonso  Johnson, 
the  blind  prodigy,  served  as  organist  and  director  of 
the  choir,  which,  under  his  training,  became  noted  for 
its  harmony.  Truly,  the  growth  of  the  Olivet  Church 
was  marvelous.  Pastor  Fisher,  having  found  an  in- 
debtedness of  twenty-eight  thousand  five  hundred  dol- 
lars, and  having  completed  the  church  house  at  an 
additional  cost  of  seventeen  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars,  succeeded  in  leading  the  people  in  paying  off 
all  but  fourteen  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  of  the 
debt  in  four  years.  The  membership  in  1903  was 
about  six  hundred ;  he  had  preached  the  gospel  to  thou- 
sands, garnering  thirteen  hundred  more  for  the  king- 
dom. With  all  of  the  number  taken  in  he  could 
remember  each  by  name. 

The  debt  was  arranged  for  by  the  trustees  on  the 
following  articles  of  agreement : 

ARTICLES  OF  AGREEMENT  made  this  first  day  of 
February,  A.  D.  1 907,  between  Baptist  City  Mission  Society, 
a  corporation  organized  and  existing  under  and  by  virtue  of 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 99 

the  laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  party 
of  the  first  part,  and  Olivet  Baptist  Church,  a  religious  corpora- 
tion, of  the  State  of  Illinois,  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  party  of 
the  second  part: 

Witnesseth,  That  the  said  party  of  the  second 

part  hereby  covenants  and  agrees  to  pay  the  sum  of  Eleven 
Thousand  Nine  Hundred  and  Sixty-eight  Dollars  ($1  1,968), 
in  the  manner  following:  $300  on  executing  this  agreement,  the 
receipt  of  which  is  hereby  acknowledged ;  $  1 ,000  on  March  1 , 
1907;  $1,657  on  September  I,  1907;  $1,621  on  March  1, 
1908;  $1,210  on  September  1,  1908;  and  $6,180  on 
March  1,  1909. 

It  is  worth  while  here  to  note  that  the  Olivet  Church 
did  not  fail  to  pay  back  all  of  the  money  promptly; 
she  thereby  established  a  confidence  in  Negro  Baptists 
that  has  remained  unshaken  to  this  day.  As  a  result, 
the  white  Baptists  of  Chicago  have  expended  more 
money  on  needy  Negro  Baptist  enterprises  of  Chicago 
than  those  of  any  other  city  in  the  nation.  Recently 
they  put  sixty-five  thousand  dollars  cash  into  one 
Negro  Baptist  church. 

Just  as  needy  churches  now  feel  that  many  burdens 
have  been  lifted  by  timely  help  from  the  white  Bap- 
tists, so  the  congregation  of  Olivet  then  felt  assured  of 
the  further  advancement  of  the  church.  Attention 
could  be  turned  to  surrounding  conditions.  The  win- 
ters were  becoming  very  severe;  people  were  destitute 
with  scant  food  and  clothing.  Unemployment  was 
everywhere.  The  church  missionaries  tried  to  relieve 
the  situation  in  a  large  way.     The  "  Chicago  Tri- 


100  THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

bune  "  for  February  8,  1908,  has  this  article  under  the 
caption,  NEGROES'  CHURCH  AIDS  NEEDY: 

A  daily  rebuke  to  those  who  shirk  their  share  in  the  burden 
of  charitable  work  this  winter  is  to  be  found  at  the  Olivet 
Baptist  Church,  Twenty-seventh  and  Dearborn  Streets,  where 
a  debt-burdened  congregation  of  colored  people  is  feeding 
daily  fifty  to  seventy-five  destitute  men,  women,  and  children, 
about  half  of  whom  are  white. 

The  work  was  begun  last  Sunday  when  the  Rev.  E.  J. 
Fisher,  pastor  of  the  church,  .  .  told  his  congregation  they 
ought  to  do  something  to  help  the  unemployed. 

Tuesday  morning  a  sign  was  hung  out  welcoming  all  pen- 
niless men,  and,  though  the  church  is  in  the  center  of  the  black 
belt,  the  first  three  persons  to  be  fed  were  white  men.  Since 
then  the  ratio  of  whites  and  colored  has  been  about  equal. 
The  white  men  at  first  seemed  loath  to  accept  the  offered  hos- 
pitality, but  hunger  conquered  prejudice  and  most  of  the  men 
have  left  vowing  to  remember  the  church  in  a  substantial  way 
when  they  get  on  their  feet.  .  . 

"  When  we  saw  the  magnificent  work  done  by  the  '  Tri- 
bune '  in  lightening  the  burden  of  the  unemployed,  and  when 
we  knew  of  the  many  cases,  in  our  midst,  of  destitution  and  of 
inability  to  obtain  work,"  said  Doctor  Fisher,  "  we  thought 
surely  the  church  should  not  be  outdone  by  a  newspaper. 
Therefore,  we  have  in  a  humble  way  joined  in  the  work." 

Not  only  in  this  work  but  in  charitable  pursuits  in 
general  did  he  lead  his  church.  Especially,  was  this 
true  in  reference  to  the  many  smaller  churches  in  the 
city  and  State.  Many  of  the  churches  were  successful 
after  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  recommended  a  man  to  them. 
Mr.  Samuel  Sisson,  a  life-long  admirer  and  friend,  ac- 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 101_ 

cepted  the  pastorate  of  the  Saint  Paul  Church  in  Hyde 
Park  and  later  accepted  a  call  to  the  church  at  Dan- 
ville. Central  Church  was  a  store  front  on  State 
Street,  but  under  the  Rev.  G.  M.  Mason,  a  brother 
pastor  of  Mr.  Fisher  in  Nashville,  secured  a  commo- 
dious building.  The  Rev.  R.  L.  Darden,  of  Georgia, 
was  recommended  to  the  Providence  Church  on  the 
West  Side.  Through  a  misunderstanding  the  congre- 
gation divided ;  Mr.  Darden  pastored  one  faction,  and 
Rev.  Dr.  S.  L.  M.  Francis  was  recommended  to  the 
other.  The  Rev.  E.  T.  Martin  was  recommended  to 
the  Bethesda  Church  and  successfully  led  the  people 
from  worship  in  a  store  to  a  beautiful  church  home  on 
Wabash  Avenue  and  Thirty-eighth  Street.  The  Rev. 
S.  A.  Mathis  was  called  to  the  Friendship  Church  on 
the  West  Side.  A  church  was  organized  at  Glencoe, 
and  the  Rev.  George  Duncan,  the  successful  assistant 
pastor  of  Olivet,  was  elected  to  take  charge.  The 
church  at  Evanston  had  been  in  confusion.  The  Rev. 
I.  A.  Thomas,  of  Georgia,  was  recommended  as  pas- 
tor and  peacemaker.  He  remained  a  friend  of  his 
sponsor  and  succeeded  in  erecting  a  modern  edifice  to 
house  one  of  the  most  powerful  congregations  in  the 
State  of  Illinois.  The  Second  Church  at  Joliet  was 
built  by  his  friend,  Rev.  Mr.  Curtwright,  after  the  de- 
sign of  the  Olivet  structure.  Many  other  cities  still  en- 
joy the  effects  of  his  generous  interest.  On  the  whole, 
there  were  few  colored  churches  in  Chicago  or  vicinity 
that  have  not  been  helped  morally  or  financially  by 


102 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

Olivet  under  Pastor  Fisher.  Not  all  of  those  whom 
he  has  helped  have  been  grateful ;  not  all  of  them  admit 
their  obligation;  only  a  few  remembered  the  bridge 
that  carried  them  over,  but  as  often  as  he  would  be 
daggered  by  the  subjects  of  his  benevolence,  just  so 
often  would  he  forgive  and  forget.  "  Certainly  virtue 
is  like  precious  odors,  most  fragrant  when  they  are  in- 
censed and  crushed;  for  prosperity  doth  best  discover 
vice,  but  adversity  doth  best  discover  virtue." 

The  Rev.  Elijah  Fisher  was  born  to  show  what 
human  powers,  unaided  by  anything  saving  culture  and 
goodness,  may  achieve,  even  when  these  powers  are 
displayed  amidst  the  competition  and  jealousy  of  pub- 
lic life.  Not  to  be  misunderstood,  note  that  it  is  not 
intended  to  assert  that  if  a  man  exert  himself  to  the 
utmost  there  is  no  height  he  cannot  reach.  This  is 
not  true,  for  ambition  cannot  be  substituted  for  intui- 
tion, nor  effort  develop  genius,  nor  intensity  of  will 
produce  power  of  mind.  As  well  might  a  butterfly 
hope  by  persistent  strivings  to  outsoar  the  eagle,  the 
sloth  to  rival  a  Man-O'-War  in  fleetness,  or  the  ant  to 
acquire  the  size  of  the  elephant.  Innate  ability  is 
needed.  The  resultant,  therefore,  of  this  innate  ability 
and  everlasting  at-it-ness  is  greatness.  Pastor  Fisher's 
works  did  not  make  him  great,  they  simply  revealed 
that  attribute. 

His  greatness  was  evinced  primarily  in  the  field  of 
religion,  as  an  organizer  and  church  builder,  but  in 
other  lines  he  was  none  the  less  conspicuous  because 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 103 

of  his  ability  and  many  endeavors.  The  answers  to 
some  questions  sent  him  might  serve  to  exhibit  Pastor 
Fisher  as  a  lover  of  his  race,  e.  g. : 

1 .  Do  you  believe  that  every  revised  Constitution  of  the 
Southern  States  which  disfranchises  Negro  citizens  is  advan- 
tageous to  the  Negro  as  an  American  citizen? 

Ans.  There  is  no  advantage  to  be  had  by  the  Negroes  in 
any  Southern  State  where  disfranchisement  exists  because  they 
are  deprived  of  rights  which  this  government  guarantees. 

2.  Should  the  Negro  ask  for  or  be  satisfied  with  less  of 
the  American  citizenship  rights  than  other  citizens? 

Ans.  The  Negro  should  be  contented  only  with  every 
right  that  belongs  to  an  American  citizen  and  should  be  satis- 
fied  with  nothing  less. 

3.  Do  you  think  it  proper  to  advise  the  Negro  to  give  up 
his  contention  for  civil  and  political  rights  and  be  content  to 
work  and  get  a  bank-account? 

Ans.  A  bank-account  is  only  guaranteed  by  civil  and 
political  rights,  which  must  be  contended  for  by  the  Negro  and 
by  other  American  citizens. 

4.  Do  you  believe  that  the  Negro  is  so  peculiarly  consti- 
tuted that  he  cannot  be  benefitted  by  the  treatment  accorded 
other  citizens? 

Ans.  The  Negro  is  like  other  people.  The  same  endow- 
ment  and  treatment  benefitting  them  will  benefit  him. 

5.  Do  you  believe  a  Negro  man  should  be  regarded  as  a 
safe  and  capable  leader  of  the  race  who  is  silent  on  lynching 
(except  to  palliate  it  and  excuse  it  in  the  Southern  States)  and 
other  outrages  against  the  Negro? 

Ans.  Since  lynching  is  a  violation  of  the  law  no  man 
should  keep  silent  at  its  violation  and  especially  as  a  leader 
whose  brother  is  the  victim. 


104 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

6.  Do  you  believe  the  Negro  of  Illinois  or  any  part  of  this 
country,  will  be  helped  by  any  leading  or  public  Negroes  con- 
ceding the  inferiority  of  the  race? 

Ans.  /  do  not,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  race  will  be 
greatly  injured. 

7.  Is  a  man  a  proper  and  acceptable  leader  of  the  Negro 
who  publicly  boasts  to  the  white  people  that  he  teaches  Negro 
women  how  to  work  on  the  farm? 

Ans.    No,  that  is,  if  he  boasts  of  nothing  higher. 

8.  Do  you  believe,  taken  as  a  whole,  the  young  Negro 
should  be  given  the  same  sort  of  education  which  best  fits  the 
youth  of  other  races  for  all  avenues  and  professions  of  life? 

Ans.  /  believe  that  whatever  it  has  taken  to  make  the 
youths  of  other  people  great  it  will  take  the  same  to  make  the 
youths  of  the  Negroes  their  equals. 

9.  Do  you  believe  the  Negro  as  a  race  should  be  trained 
only  for  menial  labor  and  industrial  pursuits? 

Ans.    No,  but  trained  for  every  avenue  of  life. 

10.  Do  you  believe  that  the  teaching  of  Booker  T.  Wash- 
ington has  in  a  large  measure  been  responsible  for  the  increase 
of  mob  violence  and  lynching  of  Negroes? 

Ans.  /  do  not  believe  that  Booker  T.  Washington  is  at 
all  responsible  for  any  of  the  lynching  and,  yet,  in  my  judg- 
ment, he  has  not  spoken  out  in  unmistakable  terms  against  it 
as  he  might. 

1 1 .  How  do  you  account  for  Mr.  Washington's  silence  on 
the  state  of  second  slavery  or  peonage  in  his  own  State  and  at 
his  door  where  hundreds  of  ignorant  Negroes  are  found  to  be 
in  worse  slavery  than  before  the  Civil  War? 

Ans.  /  think  the  silence  of  Mr.  Washington  on  the  second 
slavery  or  peonage  question  in  his  State  simply  means  to  say 
that  while  in  the  way  with  thine  adversary  agree  with  him 
quickly. 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 105 

12.  Is  Booker  T.  Washington's  popularity  as  a  leader  in- 
creasing or  diminishing  among  Negroes? 

Ans.  /  do  not  know  whether  Mr.  Washington  is  increas- 
ing or  decreasing  as  a  leader  among  Negroes. 

It  is  not  very  hard  to  obtain  Mr.  Fisher's  point  of 
view  on  the  problem  that  is  still  paramount  in  the 
forums  of  public  opinion.  His  position  was  not  en- 
tirely conservative  nor  radical,  but  it  savored  of  both, 
leaning,  however,  toward  radicalism.  He  had  abiding 
confidence  in  the  people  whom  he  essayed  to  lead.  He 
believed  firmly  in  the  enforcement  of  every  righteous 
law  of  the  land.  Still,  he  was  careful  not  to  make 
statements  that  would  smack  of  injury  to  the  reputation 
of  a  leadership  established  through  suffering,  toil,  and 
woe,  and  honored  by  men  of  every  color.  To  do  so 
would  be  to  commit  the  same  offense  against  others 
which  his  less  charitable  brethren  were  guilty  of  as 
touching  him.  However,  if  he  was  not  correct  in  his 
judgments,  he  was  at  least  consistent  in  his  thinking. 
People  have  always  followed  a  consistent  and  positive 
leadership.  On  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  Negro  his 
position  was  not  negative  but  positive. 

Many  Negroes  of  Chicago  appreciated  this  fact.  It 
was  a  common  occurrence  for  him  to  sit  on  the  church 
steps  evenings  about  six  o'clock  waiting  to  talk  to  the 
laborers  as  they  returned  from  work.  From  ten  to 
twenty  persons  were  always  in  attendance. 

Gertrude  Lillian  Fisher- Brown,  who  had  been  a 
great  help  in  the  church,  died  March  4,  1908.     The 


106 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

funeral  was  delayed  several  days  because  Mr.  Fisher 
established  a  custom  of  not  having  Sunday  displays. 
To  purchase  a  burial  lot  in  Oakwoods  Cemetery  it 
was  necessary  to  pay  considerably  more  than  if  she 
had  been  white.  What  caused  the  difference  God 
only  knows,  but  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  resolved  from  that 
day  to  have  a  cemetery  for  his  own  people.  Mount 
Glenwood  Cemetery  Association  was  advertising  for 
colored  stockholders.  He  bought  several  shares  of 
stock  but  withdrew  from  active  participation  in  the 
company  after  finding  that  the  concern  was  controlled 
by  white  people.  He  called  Undertakers  Charles  S. 
Jackson,  Daniel  Jackson,  George  O.  Jones,  Clifford 
Johnson,  Dr.  George  C.  Hall,  the  Rev.  Dr.  S.  L.  M. 
Francis,  and  Messrs.  S.  A.  Griffin,  R.  M.  Johnson, 
and  W.  H.  Terrell  together  and  laid  plans  for  the 
purchase  of  beautiful  Mount  Forest  Cemetery  in  the 
suburbs  of  Chicago.  Today,  this  resting-place  is  a 
landmark  along  the  course  of  Mr.  Fisher,  and  it  is 
used  and  kept  up  almost  wholly  by  the  ever-increasing 
number  who  die  as  members  of  the  Olivet  Church. 

The  purpose  of  the  following  remarks  is  not  to  re- 
hearse the  views  of  Pastor  Fisher  nor  to  vindicate  the 
legitimacy  of  the  conclusions  which  he  reached,  but 
rather  by  some  notes  to  show  his  further  attitude  to- 
ward good  government.  He  was  partisan.  He  had 
no  hesitancy  in  endorsing  those  candidates  whose  past 
record  appealed  to  him  and  whose  attitude  toward  the 
Negro  was  seemingly  fair. 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 107 

Dear  Dr.  Fisher:  August  1  7,  1 908. 

I  thank  you  cordially  for  your  letter  of  congratulations  of 
the  eleventh  instant  and  assure  you  that  the  sentiments  ex- 
pressed therein  are  highly  appreciated  by  me.  It  is  indeed 
a  pleasure  to  receive  such  as  yours.  Your  good  will  and  sup- 
port were  of  great  advantage  to  me. 
With  best  wishes,  I  am 

Yours  truly, 

C.  S.  Deneen. 

The  last  paragraph  of  the  next  letter  from  the 
Chairman  of  the  Republican  National  Committee,  who 
was  later  Secretary  of  Commerce  and  Labor  in  the 
cabinet  of  President  Taft,  shows  with  what  constancy 
he  labored  for  the  Republican  Party  and  for  his  race : 

St.  Louis,  November  2,  1908. 
Dr.  E.  J.  Fisher, 

Twenty-seventh  and  Dearborn  Streets, 
Chicago,  111. 

Dear  Doctor: 

I  have  your  letter  of  October  31  and  am  gratified  to  have 
your  expression  of  confidence  and  satisfaction  with  what  I 
undertook  to  do. 

It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  reciprocate,  and  to  say  to  you 
that  your  support  from  the  start  to  the  end  of  the  campaign 
has  net  only  been  a  matter  of  encouragement  to  me  personally, 
but  has  been  accepted  as  an  effective  contribution  to  the  general 
results  which  will,  no  doubt,  be  a  triumph  for  the  Republican 
Party,  and  through  it,  for  your  race. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

Charles  Nagle. 
I 


108 THE  MASTER'S  SLAVE 

He  was  solicitous,  too,  about  the  mistreatment  of 
his  people  in  all  sections  of  the  country.  The  church 
sent  a  petition  to  President  Roosevelt  concerning  the 
Brownsville  affair.  Governor  Deneen  respecting  the 
Springfield  lawlessness  writes: 

The  mob  violence  here  has  been  suppressed,  and  the  machin- 
ery of  the  law  is  in  operation.  Thirty-eight  persons  have  been 
indicted,  and  I  have  been  informed  that  there  will  be  about 
fifty  others  indicted.  Their  trials  will  begin  about  the  first 
day  of  next  term,  which  will  be  within  two  weeks.  I  believe 
that  speedy  justice  will  be  meted  out  to  those  who  disgraced 
our  city. 


VII 

ON  UNKNOWN  SEAS 
1910-19 


ON  UNKNOWN  SEAS 
1910-1912 

The  National  Baptist  Convention  in  its  regular  ses- 
sion at  Columbus,  Ohio,  September  19,  1909,  elected 
a  delegation,  of  which  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  was  chairman, 
to  sit  in  the  World's  Missionary  Conference  in  Edin- 
burgh, Scotland.  This  honor  offered  an  opportunity 
for  travel  which  had  never  come  to  him  before.  The 
opportunity  indeed  was  not  so  unusual  as  in  times  gone 
by  and  yet  even  now  the  number  of  clergy  who  make 
the  voyage  is  small  in  comparison  with  those  who  aspire 
to  the  opportunity.  The  greatness  of  the  occasion  con- 
sisted in  the  opportunity  it  afforded  for  travel,  the 
largeness  of  his  mission,  and  the  prominence  of  the 
position  held  by  him.  These  facts  are  worthy  of  space 
here,  but  the  things  that  the  conference  discussed  and 
the  movements  of  the  party  are  mentioned  by  him  in 
the  only  diary  he  kept. 

On  May  23,  1910,  a  "friendship  parting"  was 
given  by  the  Olivet  Church  for  Pastor  Fisher.  The 
following  Saturday  he  arrived  in  New  York.  He 
spent  the  Sunday  preaching  for  the  Rev.  Dr.  A.  M. 
Gilbert,  pastor  of  the  Mount  Olive  Baptist  Church. 
The  days  following  were  full  of  business  cares  and 
final  preparation  for  the  welcome  journey. 

Ill 


1 12  THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

Saturday,  June  4,  1910. 

We  came  aboard  the  Arabic,  White  Star  Line,  at  8.45 
a.  m.  Room  1  75,  berth  2,  was  assigned  to  me.  Lunch  was 
served  at  10.45.  We  then  registered  so  as  to  get  our  assign- 
ments at  the  table.  Number  43  was  mine.  Rev.  Dr.  F.  L. 
Lights,  of  Houston,  Texas,  sat  opposite  me.  Rev.  H.  R. 
Harrison,  of  Atlanta,  Georgia,  sat  at  the  end,  and  Rev.  Wes- 
ley, of  Texarkana,  Texas,  sat  near  me.  The  remainder  of  our 
table  was  white.  .  .  The  day  was  spent  in  meeting  the  many 
passengers  and  in  making  acquaintances.  The  sea  was  calm 
during  the  greater  portion  of  the  day.  Later  in  the  afternoon 
the  winds  arose,  and  many  of  the  party  found  themselves  a 
little  sea-sick.  By  suppertime  many  were  in  bed.  Some  went 
to  supper  but  were  not  able  to  eat. 

Monday  morning  still  found  many  sick  and  unable  to  get 
out  of  bed.  The  sea  was  still  rough.  Our  party  was  fifteen 
hundred  strong,  the  large  majority  Irish.  Some  were  dancing, 
some  playing  heads  and  tails,  some  doing  one  thing  after 
another,  while  many  were  calling  for  the  doctor  on  every  hand. 
I  was  among  that  number.  Doctor  Bacote  was  much  worse 
off  than  I. 

Tuesday  morning  found  most  of  us  up  and  ready  for  break- 
fast on  time.  .  .  We  were  now  nearing  mid-ocean  and  were 
beginning  to  turn  our  attention  from  New  York  to  Liverpool. 
Then  the  thought  of  the  great  beyond  flashed  into  my  mind — 
how  we  span  life's  ocean  looking  to  the  great  beyond  "  for- 
getting those  things  which  are  behind."  At  7.30  we  had 
a  song  service  led  by  Rev.  Skipworth,  of  New  York,  and 
myself. 

Wednesday. 

The  weather  was  very  warm  and  the  sea  calm.  We  were 
all  sitting  watching  the  vaulted  sky  and  the  deep  blue  sea. 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 
At  Sea 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER U3 

Friday. 

You  could  see  the  grade  in  the  Atlantic  and  the  seeming 
hill  in  the  ocean.  Our  attention  was  called  to  a  large  number 
of  flying-fish  and  porpoises  after  them.  At  7.30  there  was  a 
benefit  concert  for  the  Seamen's  Orphanage  at  New  York  and 
Liverpool.  I  was  the  leading  character  in  the  affair.  We  had 
lunch  at  9.00  o'clock  and  retired  for  the  night. 

On  Saturday  the  fog  became  so  dense  that  the  whistle  was 
compelled  to  blow  every  two  or  three  minutes  to  prevent  other 
vessels  from  colliding.  This  was  kept  up  all  night.  The  ship 
was  compelled  to  stop  as  many  as  a  half  dozen  times. 

Mr.  Fisher  wrote  briefly  of  the  last  days  of  the  jour- 
ney. 

Sunday. 

The  morning  brought  us  in  touch  with  each  other  again 
after  the  ringing  of  the  first  bell.  After  breakfast  we  attended 
the  services  of  the  Church  of  England,  in  keeping  with  the 
occasion.  We  reached  Queenstown  at  3.30,  where  many  pas- 
sengers disembarked.  Shamrock  Lighthouse,  forts,  and  ships 
were  in  full  view.  Leaving  Queenstown  we  moved  up  the  St. 
George's  Channel  toward  Scotland  with  Ireland  on  one  side 
of  us  and  Wales  on  the  other.  At  8  p.  m.,  we  had  a  regular 
church  service.  Dr.  W.  W.  Brown  was  at  the  piano,  and  I 
led  in  the  singing.  Dr.  F.  L.  Lights  led  in  prayer.  Dr.  P. 
James  Bryant,  of  Atlanta,  Georgia,  preached  a  most  excellent 
sermon. 

The  next  stop  was  at  Liverpool  where  the  delega- 
tion disembarked.  The  party  remained  there  only  a 
few  hours  getting  not  a  daylight  glimpse  of  England's 
great  seaport.    They  boarded  the  train  for  Edinburgh 


U4 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

arriving  in  time  to  get  a  little  sleep  before  the  opening 
of  the  conference  on  Monday. 

The  conference  continued  from  June  1 4  to  June  23 
and  proved  a  source  of  inspiration  to  Mr.  Fisher  and 
delegation.  Not  only  were  the  themes  of  Professor 
Beach,  of  Yale  University,  Doctors  McEwen,  Borden, 
and  MacAlpine,  Hon.  William  Jennings  Bryan,  and 
others,  covering  the  entire  field  of  missionary  activity, 
very  helpful,  but  the  close  association  with  leading  men 
of  the  world,  both  lay  and  clergy,  such  as  John  R. 
Mott,  Hon.  Seth  Low,  Drs.  Robert  E.  Speer,  J. 
Campbell  Morgan,  Stalker,  Zwemer,  Professor  Pat- 
terson, Lord  Balfour  of  Burleigh,  and  hundreds  more, 
was  duly  appreciated  by  Pastor  Fisher  as  he  showed 
by  his  missionary  zeal  on  his  return. 

Not  much  time  could  be  taken  from  the  conference 
for  seeing  Scotia's  famous  capital,  although  glimpses 
now  and  then  were  gained  of  the  place  Sir  Walter 
Scott  calls  "  mine  own  romantic  town."  Mr.  Fisher 
visited  on  Tuesday  John  Knox's  dwelling,  Hume's 
birthplace,  and  Lord  Erskine's  house.  Securing  a 
guide  he  visited  Holyrood  Palace  and  saw  the  suite 
of  Lord  Darnley  with  its  gorgeous  tapestries  and  rare 
portraits. 

Each  day  a  little  of  the  attractive  and  romantic  was 
seen.  He  told  of  his  visit  to  Abbotsford,  where  the 
keys  of  Lochleven  Castle  and  the  ancient  Tolbooth 
abide.  Many  rare  things,  weapons  and  books,  were 
here — Napoleon's  pistol,   Scott's  sword,   pistol,   and 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER U5 

gun,  and  Rob  Roy's  sword  and  gun.  He  bought  two 
coats  for  his  daughters,  a  brooch  for  his  wife,  a  book 
of  Burns'  poetry,  and  many  souvenirs.  In  the  Burg 
of  Northumbrian  Edwin,  Mr.  Fisher  with  his  crutches 
and  blackness  was  an  attraction  to  many  children. 
They  would  follow  him  from  place  to  place  for  an  op- 
portunity to  feel  his  hand  to  find  out  if  he  was  painted 
or  to  ask  him  if  he  had  been  born  that  way.  In  Scot- 
land the  Negro  was  a  novelty. 

He  left  Scotia's  capital  Thursday  evening.  The 
hour-and-a-half  ride  to  Glasgow  was  full  of  historic  in- 
terest, the  city  being  very  near  to  Stirling  and  Dun- 
fermline, "  where  Bruce  and  several  Scottish  monarchs 
lie  buried."  Many  important  places  were  to  be  seen, 
including  George's  Square,  containing  historic  statuary, 
and  Bishop  Tumbull's  School.    He  writes: 

Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  have  very  fine  schools.  All  of  the 
Scotch  people  can  read  and  write.  Every  parent  seems  anxious 
to  have  his  child  go  to  college. 

After  a  few  hours'  visiting  he  crossed  the  North  Chan- 
nel to  Ireland,  stopping  first  at  Belfast.  By  train  he 
then  passed  to  Dublin,  the  seat  of  Trinity  College, 
where  Oliver  Goldsmith  and  Dean  Swift  were  stu- 
dents.   Mr.  Fisher  remarks : 

Here  you  see  Phoenix  Park,  which  the  Irish  say  is  the  finest 
pleasure  resort  in  the  world.  Cricket  and  golf  are  great  sports 
in  this  place. 


U6 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

Again  he  set  out  for  Liverpool  to  get  a  daylight 
glimpse  of  the  home  town  of  Mesdames  Hemans  and 
Oliphant  and  of  William  Roscoe  and  Gladstone.  It 
was  worth  while  to  be  in  the  city  where  Nathaniel 
Hawthorne  had  resided  as  American  consul  and  to  see 
the  free  libraries  and  picture-galleries,  the  palatial- 
looking  piles  of  office  buildings,  built  of  hewn  stone 
in  the  Italian  Renaissance  style,  Sefton  Park,  St. 
George's  Hall,  and  the  statue  of  Queen  Victoria  and 
Lord  Beaconsfield's  and  Wellington's  monuments. 

As  in  other  places  our  traveler  did  not  remain  long 
but  took  train  for  the  British  metropolis,  London. 
'  We  hired  a  cab  and  made  our  way  to  the  European 
Hotel,  where  we  again  joined  our  delegation  from 
America."  He  narrates  very  little  concerning  London 
as  the  few  hours  there  were  spent  in  rest  at  the  hotel. 

"  At  8.30  p.  m.,  we  made  our  way  to  the  station 
where  we  boarded  the  train  for  Paris."  He  relates  in 
his  diary  nothing  of  his  ride  through  fertile  Kent  to 
Dover,  his  cross  of  the  Pas-de-Calais  and  subsequent 
travel  to  Paris.  Here  he  is  brief  and  states  that  the 
party  had  breakfast  at  the  Tourist  Hotel. 

We  retired  for  two  hours.  We  luncheoned  at  one,  then 
made  a  three-hour  auto  tour  of  that  great  city.  We  then  re- 
turned to  our  hotel  and  after  a  little  rest  went  out  again  through 
portions  of  the  city  we  had  not  seen. 

Not  until  he  returned  home  did  he  tell  of  the  magna- 
nimity of  the  French  people,  the  Champs  de  Mars, 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER H7 

Eiffel  Tower,  the  lights  of  the  boulevards  blazing  from 
the  Place  de  la  Concorde  to  the  column  in  the  Place 
de  la  Bastille.  He  summed  up  his  description  as  fol- 
lows: "  We  saw  the  city  apparently  as  it  was,  full  of 
wickedness  and  sin."    Speaking  further  he  says: 

Sunday  morning  we  took  a  stroll  through  the  park  across 
the  Seine  River  until  we  had  reached  the  Baptist  church.  The 
pastor  was  absent  in  Edinburgh,  but  his  wife  was  holding  the 
fort.  After  church  we  spent  the  rest  of  the  day  going  from 
place  to  place.     We  retired  early. 

Monday  morning  we  left  Paris  in  company  with  Doctors 
Lights  and  Wesley  of  Texas.  We  made  our  way  to  the 
station  and  were  soon  off  for  Brussels.  We  arrived  here  at 
4.30  in  the  afternoon  and  made  our  way  with  a  guide  to  the 
Morties  Hotel.  We  had  dinner,  went  for  a  short  walk,  and 
retired  with  a  view  to  rising  early  the  next  morning.  This  we 
did,  and  with  an  interpreter  we  toured  the  city.  We  were 
taken  to  the  palace  where  King  Leopold  had  lived,  but  be- 
hold, the  King  of  kings  had  called  him  thence  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  his  stewardship. 

He  also  related  seeing  the  Hotel  de  Ville  in  the  lower 
and  less  Healthy  part  of  the  city  where  a  painting  of 
Attila's  defeat  at  Chalons  is  especially  striking;  the 
mansion  opposite  where  Egmont  and  Horn  were  con- 
fined the  night  before  their  death,  a  statue  of  Godfrey 
of  Bouillon  and  a  more  modern  sight,  the  World 
Exposition. 

The  World  Exposition  was  going  on  in  this  city,  and  peo- 
ple and  things  were  here  from  every  part  of  the  globe.  The 
exhibits   were  truly  wonderful.      We   met  several   Africans. 


US THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

The  attraction,  however,  was  the  American  Negro  attending 
an  exposition  in  Brussels,  not  as  a  servant  but  as  a  visitor.  We 
were  approached  by  many  who  asked  whence  we  came  and 
what  was  our  business.  Many  inquirers  had  never  seen  peo- 
ple of  our  color  before. 

After  two  days  our  travelers  were  back  in  London, 
having  an  opportunity  to  see  Buckingham  Palace,  the 
British  Museum,  Saint  Paul's  Cathedral  with  its  tombs 
of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  Lord 
Nelson,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  others,  the 
Tower  of  London  conspicuous  for  its  long  list  of  po- 
litical prisoners,  the  Thames  Embankment,  and  West- 
minster Abbey  of  coronation  fame  and  memorial  to 
early  English  kings,  patriots,  and  poets  from  Chaucer 
to  Dickens. 

He  set  sail  from  Liverpool  on  July  2.  Pastor 
Fisher  was  tendered  a  banquet  on  his  return  by  his 
church,  the  mission  society  taking  the  leading  part.  At 
this  time,  with  the  aid  of  a  stereopticon,  he  related 
more  in  detail  the  places  visited,  the  things  he  had 
heard,  and  the  sum  total  of  the  conference. 

The  result  was  plainly  evident.  The  Rev.  James 
H.  Wilson  and  wife,  members  of  the  Olivet  Baptist 
Church,  were  sent  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  December, 
1910,  to  take  charge  of  the  Bethel  Baptist  Church, 
Demarara,  South  America.  Mr.  Fisher  became  an 
enthusiast  over  missions.  Dr.  L.  G.  Jordan,  Secretary 
of  the  Foreign  Mission  Board  of  the  National  Baptist 
Convention,  was  invited  to  the  church  to  speak  espe- 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER H9 

dally  on  the  work  of  his  board.  In  the  midst  of  Doctor 
Jordan's  passionate  plea  for  Africa,  Pastor  Fisher 
arose  and  stated  that  he  would  give  his  horse  and 
buggy  to  the  cause.  His  wife  objected  strenuously 
when  she  heard  of  the  affair,  and  Mr.  Fisher  contented 
himself  with  making  a  donation  to  the  cause  of  mis- 
sions. Probably  the  idea  of  a  fiery  mare  and  buggy 
traveling  from  Chicago  to  Africa  was  ridiculous !  But 
Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  was  determined  to  do  a  good  deal 
for  missions  in  general  and  Africa  in  particular.  He 
offered  to  help  Eben  S.  V.  Koti,  an  African  student  in 
the  State  University  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  when  he 
was  prepared  to  sail.  Mr.  Koti  acknowledged  his 
indebtedness : 

I  have  learned  from  the  Rev.  T.  W.  Longwood  that  you 
were  prepared  to  send  me  some  money  to  buy  a  horse.  Twenty 
pounds  is  the  estimate  to  get  a  pony  out  there.  Indeed  I  can- 
not find  words  to  express  my  gratitude  and  indebtedness  for 
your  kindness  to  me. 

In  the  fall  of  1910,  Mr.  Fisher  attended  for  his 
twenty-third  consecutive  meeting  the  National  Baptist 
Convention  in  its  annual  session  in  New  Orleans, 
Louisiana.  While  there  he  was  thrown  from  the  step 
of  a  street-car  on  to  the  ground.  The  accident  was 
serious  and  left  its  marks  on  his  body.  He  was 
brought  home  in  a  weakened  and  much  perturbed  con- 
dition. At  first  his  condition  was  considered  lightly  by 
his  family,  and  it  was  thought  that  a  few  days'  rest 


120  THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

would  again  see  him  in  good  condition.  According  to 
his  custom,  he  called  in  several  of  the  young  physicians 
to  encourage  them  in  their  work.  The  accident  was 
only  the  occasion  of  his  illness,  the  cause  being  grief 
over  the  loss  of  his  daughter  and  worry  over  the  pangs 
of  leadership.  A  specialist  was  called  in,  and  in  a  few 
days  recovery  was  assured. 

Once  again  he  took  his  accustomed  place  at  the  helm 
of  the  church.  The  membership  had  increased  to 
thirty-one  hundred,  and  his  was  easily  the  largest  Pro- 
testant congregation  North  of  Mason  and  Dixon's 
Line.  He  immediately  turned  his  attention  to  the  elec- 
tion of  good  men  to  office.  He  never  had  warmer 
friends  nor  more  staunch  admirers  than  Congressmen 
Martin  B.  Madden  and  W.  A.  Rodenberg. 

October  3,  1910. 
My  dear  Doctor: 

Mr.  Rodenberg  and  I  were  in  Chicago  on  last  Friday  and 
called  at  the  Republican  National  Congressional  Committee 
Headquarters  and  requested  Colonel  Casson  to  assign  you  for 
two  days  in  our  district.  We  would  like  to  have  you  on  Friday 
and  Saturday,  October  28  and  29.  The  meeting  on  Satur- 
day, October  29,  will  be  at  East  St.  Louis  in  the  city  hall,  and 
we  will  try  to  make  this  meeting  as  successful  as  the  one  which 
was  held  in  the  hall  two  years  ago.  You  will  probably  re- 
call that  in  addition  to  yourself  we  did  expect  to  have  Mr. 
Vernon,  but  he  was  unable  to  reach  the  city  in  time.  We  will 
probably  have  Mr.  Vernon  at  this  meeting  on  the  29th,  and 
you  will  certainly  have  to  be  in  good  trim  if  you  expect  to  make 
a  better  impression  than  you  did  two  years  ago,  because,  with- 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER \2A_ 

out  any  flattery,  it  is  a  fact  that  many  of  our  citizens  are  still 
mindful  of  the  manner  in  which  you  raised  the  roof. 

I  will  leave  for  East  St.  Louis  tomorrow  evening,  and  I 
would  appreciate  it  if  you  would  advise  me  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment  whether  or  not  we  can  depend  upon  you  for 
the  two  dates  above  mentioned,  October  28  and  29. 
With  sincere  good  wishes,  I  am 

Yours  very  truly, 

Edw.  E.  Miller. 

Mr.  Fisher  accepted  the  invitation.  The  result 
was  that  Mr.  Rodenberg  was  again  seated  in  Con- 
gress, where  he  served  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Industrial  Arts  and  Expositions. 

.„     ,       r.  n-.  ,  November  15,  1910. 

My  dear  Doctor  risher: 

Now  that  the  election  is  over,  I  desire  to  take  this  opportu- 
nity of  expressing  to  you  my  sincere  appreciation  for  the  splen- 
did work  done  by  yourself  in  this  congressional  district.  Your 
speeches  at  East  St.  Louis,  Brooklyn,  and  Alton  did  much  to 
induce  our  voters  to  vote  the  straight  Republican  ticket,  and 
were  the  means  of  arousing  a  good  deal  of  party  enthusiasm. 
I  hope  we  will  be  so  fortunate  as  to  have  you  with  us  again 
during  the  next  campaign  two  years  hence.  In  the  meantime 
if  I  can  be  of  service  to  you,  I  trust  you  will  not  hesitate  to 
write  me. 

With  kindest  regard  from  Mr.  Miller  and  myself,  I  remain 
Yours  very  truly, 

W.  A.  Rodenberg. 

His  main  exploits  were  not  in  the  field  of  politics  but 
religion.    Still  he  realized  the  thought  of  Doctor  Rau- 


]22 THE  MASTER'S  SLAVE 

schenbusch  that  "  under  the  warm  breath  of  religious 
faith  all  institutions  became  plastic." 

He  found  time  this  year  to  serve  as  trustee  of  many 
institutions  of  education  in  connection  with  carrying 
on  the  work  of  a  growing  church.  Many  activities 
were  claiming  his  attention  and  aid.  Dr.  Booker  T. 
Washington  visited  him  during  the  winter  and  gave 
an  appreciated  address  to  a  crowded  house.  The 
campaign  for  a  colored  branch  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  in  Chicago  was  at  fever  heat. 
Churches,  clubs,  and  individuals  were  responding 
nobly.  On  January  16,  1911,  Olivet  subscribed  six- 
teen hundred  dollars.  Pastor  Fisher's  general  opinion 
of  the  Association  was  that,  if  the  church  was  doing 
her  duty,  George  Williams  would  have  had  no  occa- 
sion for  its  foundation.  We  might  glean  his  view  on 
such  an  organization  from  his  sermon  on  '  The 
Church,  the  Pillar  and  Stay  of  Truth  ": 

The  church  has  a  mission  that  no  other  organization  can 
accomplish.  No  other  society  in  the  world  can  be  substituted 
for  it.  Were  the  attempt  made  to  combine  all  the  noble  aims, 
to  consolidate  all  the  excellent  characteristics  that  are  claimed 
by  all  the  organizations  now  existing  in  the  world,  into  one, 
in  itself  a  complete,  yet  merely  human  organization,  it  could 
not  fill  the  place  now  occupied  by  the  church  of  God.  .  .  Some 
ennobling  aspects  of  truth  for  the  uplifting  of  mankind  may  be 
engrafted  into  some  of  them,  some  work  of  beneficence  and 
succor  to  the  unfortunate  and  suffering  of  the  race  may  be 
accomplished  by  many  of  them,  but  all  they  can  legitimately 
claim  to  stand  for  of  good  to  mankind  in  the  world  is  but  a 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER    [23 

scintillation,  a  pale  reflection  of  the  many-sided  truth  for  which 
the  Christian  church  stands.  Truth  full-orbed  with  power  of 
life,  with  the  years  of  eternity  before  it,  beams  forth  from  the 
church.  The  power  of  her  truth  gives  sight  to  the  blind,  heal- 
ing to  the  sick,  cleansing  to  the  filthy,  and  life  to  the  dead. 
Within  her  home  a  new  and  higher  life  is  born,  for  her  Head 
has  said,  "  Except  a  man  be  born  of  the  water  and  of  the 
Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God." 

Pastor  Fisher  was  willing  to  use  his  good  offices  to 
encourage  any  worthy  movement  whether  it  was  fos- 
tered by  white  or  black,  Methodist  or  Baptist;  his  only 
inquiry  being,  Is  the  cause  a  meritorious  one? 

His  services  were  constantly  in  demand  as  a  revival- 
ist. He  was  always  glad  to  conduct  meetings  in  the 
South.  Often  did  he  go  to  his  old  pastorates  in  Nash- 
ville and  Atlanta  to  conduct  meetings.  It  must  have 
been  great  joy  to  return  to  his  former  pastorate  in  At- 
lanta, whose  pastor  had  been  ordained  by  him  and  was 
now  serving  in  a  large  way. 

One  of  the  most  helpful  meetings  conducted  in  At- 
lanta was  at  the  Wheat  Street  Baptist  Church,  of 
which  the  Rev.  Dr.  P.  James  Bryant  was  pastor. 
The  two  were  spoken  of  as  the  "  Modern  Paul  and 
Silas."  By  way  of  advertisement  this  statement  was 
issued  by  the  press : 

Doctor  Fisher  is  preaching  the  gospel  in  a  simple,  convinc- 
ing, and  unanswerable  manner.      His  clarion  voice  in  gospel 
and  song  is  now  like  trumpet-blasts,  then  like  a  mighty  cyclone, 
and  then  again  akin  to  the  dove  and  nightingale. 
K 


224 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

Atlanta!  Yes,  Atlanta,  the  city  of  sunlight,  love, 
and  sorrow,  with  its  magnolia  trees  making  fragrant  the 
walks  over  which  they  had  blossomed  for  years;  its 
picturesque  red  hills  and  palatial  residences  were  beau- 
tiful indeed,  but  more  delightful  than  scenic  nature 
were  the  trees  of  righteousness  "  planted  by  the  rivers 
of  waters,"  lifting  their  branches  in  air  and  being  as- 
sured of  their  place  in  divine  mansions  on  high. 

Mr.  Fisher's  evangelistic  tendencies  were  national. 
From  a  note  to  his  sister,  Mrs.  S.  A.  Brown,  of  New- 
nan,  Georgia,  he  refers  to  a  recent  revival  conducted  in 
January.  "  I  have  been  to  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania," 
he  said,  "  conducting  a  ten-days'  meeting  for  Dr.  H. 
W.  Childs.    Over  a  hundred  were  converted." 

He  was  equally  fitted  for  the  work  of  an  evangelist 
or  a  pastor,  but  the  pulpit  at  Olivet  Church  was  his 
throne,  and  there  he  reigned  over  a  willing  people. 
His  congregation  expressed  a  desire  to  make  the  fifty- 
eighth  anniversary  of  the  church  a  telling  success.  The 
program  extended  from  July  31  through  August  6, 
1911,  and  was  graced  by  many  of  the  city  pastors  and 
by  the  Rev.  Frank  L.  Anderson,  D.  D.,  Dr.  E.  P. 
Johnson,  of  Atlanta,  Georgia,  and  the  Rev.  T.  L. 
Griffith,  President  of  the  Western  Baptist  Convention, 
of  which  Mr.  Fisher  was  a  life  member. 

Olivet  by  this  time  was  a  machine  which  could  roll 
along  with  any  good  engineer.  It  was  so  constituted 
as  not  only  to  take  care  of  its  three  thousand  members 
but  of  all  who  might  wish  to  join.    Pastor  Fisher  knew 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 125 

this  and  could  branch  out  more  and  more  into  other 
fields  of  religious  endeavor. 

He  represented  the  National  Baptist  Convention  at 
the  World's  Alliance  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania, 
and  attended  other  meetings  all  over  the  country,  al- 
ways putting  Olivet  to  the  front  as  a  representative 
Negro  and  Christian  organization. 

Ever  since  the  organization  of  the  National  Educa- 
tional Congress,  he  was  appointed  as  a  delegate  by  the 
Governor  of  the  State.  Governor  Deneen  in  appoint- 
ing him  a  delegate  for  1912  says : 

I  have  been  requested  to  appoint  delegates  to  the  National 
Negro  Educational  Congress,  to  be  held  at  St.  Paul,  Minne- 
sota, July  15-19,  1912.  Accordingly,  I  am  pleased  to  ap- 
point you  a  delegate  to  this  Congress.  I  enclose  herewith  a 
copy  of  letter  addressed  to  me  by  the  Hon.  Adolph  O.  Eber- 
hart,  Governor  of  Minnesota,  in  regard  to  the  Congress. 

State  of  Minnesota 

Executive  Department 

St.  Paul. 

Adolph  O.  Eberhart,  Governor. 

u      rv      c  r^  March  26,  1912. 

Hon.  Lhas.  b.  Deneen, 

Governor  of  Illinois, 

Springfield,  111. 

My  dear  Governor: 

The  Negro  National  Educational  Congress  will  hold  its 
annual  session  in  the  city  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  July  15-19, 
1912. 


126 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

The  object  of  this  organization  is: 

To  raise  the  standard  of  Negro  citizenship  in  the  United 
States ; 

To  instill  in  the  youth  of  this  race  higher  ideals  of  manhood 
and  womanhood,  a  greater  respect  for  law  and  a  love  for 
honest  toil,  economy,  and  thrift. 

You  have  no  doubt  in  your  State  many  worthy  Negroes 
whose  united  effort  along  the  above  lines  would  result  in  great 
good  for  the  race,  and  it  is  from  among  this  class  that  I  would 
ask  you  to  appoint  a  suitable  delegation  to  this  convention  and 
advise  me  of  such  appointment. 

The  movement  is  a  worthy  one  and  I  trust  that  you  will 
lend  it  your  support. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Adolph  O.  EBERHART,  Governor. 

Mr.  J.  R.  White,  the  chairman  of  the  committee  of 
the  movement,  sent  a  letter  on  April  27,  1912,  compli- 
menting Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  on  his  appointment  and 
stating  that  "  your  Governor  will  appoint  any  man  or 
woman  that  you  may  recommend,  and  I  trust  that  Illi- 
nois will  make  a  good  showing  in  this  coming  meeting 
and  carry  off  the  banner." 

The  relation  between  Pastor  Fisher  and  Governor 
Deneen  was  not  caused  wholly  by  their  close  associa- 
tion in  political  affairs,  but  was  built  on  service  ren- 
dered mankind  in  the  past  and  greater  opportunities 
for  advancement  in  the  future.  This  must  be  true,  for 
even  during  Democratic  administrations,  in  which  Rev. 
Mr.  Fisher  was  never  actively  interested,  appointments 
came  to  him. 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 127 

October  4,  1913. 
Dear  Sir: 

I  have  the  honor  to  appoint  you  a  delegate  to  attend  the 
celebration  of  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  Emancipation 
Proclamation  at  Exposition  Hall,  Atlantic  City,  New  Jersey, 
October  6-13,  1913. 

Very  truly  yours, 

E.  F.  DUNNE,  Governor. 

Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  had  big  ideas  not  only  in  church, 
city,  State,  and  national  ways  but  in  international  re- 
lations. What  his  ultimate  aim  was  nobody  knows,  but 
from  correspondence  dated  April  18,  1912,  with  Al- 
bert A.  Ipso,  Ansah  Province  of  Ashanti,  whom  he 
met  in  London — he  must  have  favored  a  wise,  sober 
movement  designed  to  bring  about  a  proper  race-con- 
sciousness and  closer  relationships  between  the  hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  darker  peoples  of  the  whole  world. 

Reverting  to  our  conversation  some  time  ago  when  you  were 
here,  with  reference  to  the  drawing  closer  together  of  the 
American  members  of  our  race  and  those  of  us  on  the  West 
Coast  of  Africa,  I  think  this  can  be  accomplished  by  our  be- 
ing brought  together  in  commercial  relations.  The  advantage 
of  this  would  lie  in  the  intercourse  which  will  follow  and  make 
us  better  acquainted  with  each  other. 

This  idea  was  good,  the  purpose  unselfish,  and  the 
motive  very  helpful,  but  in  the  strength  of  Mr.  Fisher's 
love  for  his  race  lay  his  apparent  weakness.  People 
had  heard  him  repeat  his  motto,  "  Be  somebody,  do 


128 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

something,  have  something,"  and  took  advantage  es- 
pecially of  the  last  link.  He  paid  little  attention  to 
the  whims  of  the  people.  To  show  that  some  of  the 
goods  of  this  world  were  needed  to  prove  the  useful- 
ness of  men,  he  humorously  told  a  story  of  an  old 
Negro  who  owned  a  farm  on  both  sides  of  the  Chatta- 
hoochee River  in  Georgia  and  Alabama. 

His  business  grew  to  such  proportions  [said  Mr.  Fisher] 
that  he  employed  other  men  to  run  the  farm  while  he  ferried 
people  from  one  side  of  the  river  to  the  other.  One  day  a 
white  man  came  along  and  wanted  to  cross  but  had  no  money. 
The  white  brother  said  that  he  would  pay  when  he  returned. 
The  wise  old  colored  man  replied,  "  No  boss,  if  a  man  hain't 
got  money  nuff  to  pay  his  way  cross  dis  shere  riber,  he  ain't 
got  no  business  on  the  other  side,  fur  he  is  just  as  much  service 
on  one  side  as  he  is  on  the  other." 

Schemers  and  designing  men  knew  that  this  senti- 
ment was  characteristic  of  Mr.  Fisher's  life,  and  when- 
ever a  new  project  came  up  they  sought  him.  A 
Negro  settlement  was  to  be  started  in  Gary,  Indiana, 
whereupon  Pastor  Fisher  bought  a  block  of  property 
which  upon  investigation  was  found  to  be  entirely  sub- 
merged in  water.  He  took  shares  in  a  Negro  mining 
concern  which  has  never  been  heard  of  since.  In  this 
time  of  money  stringency  and  the  cost  of  high  living, 
we  look  at  a  receipt  for  four  hundred  dollars  "  for 
stock  issued  Rev.  Fisher  "  by  a  Negro  coal  and  oil 
company,  and  today  we  are  still  smelling  the  fumes  of 
cold  "  gas." 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 129 

This  was  not  all,  for  he  spent  considerable  money  in 
trying  to  foster  Negro  business.  He  conceived  an  idea 
of  a  print-shop  in  which  all  churches  would  cooperate 
in  having  all  their  printing  done.  He  invested,  but  no 
other  ministers  joined.  He  and  three  lay  partners  car- 
ried on  the  enterprise  for  about  a  year;  his  investment, 
however,  was  always  an  expense  account,  so  he  with- 
drew. The  need  of  a  first-class  drug-store  was  promi- 
nent in  his  mind.  Accordingly  he  contracted  for  the 
purchase  of  a  two-story  brick  building  at  2701  South 
State  Street,  opened  a  drug-store,  and  rented  the  sec- 
ond floor  for  offices.  Having  no  one  to  look  after  his 
interests  he  sold  the  drug  outfit.  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  then 
let  his  store  to  the  White  House  Candy  Company. 
The  company  was  not  successful,  and  Mr.  Fisher  de- 
cided to  refrain  from  further  business  undertakings.  In 
all  of  his  investments  he  was  at  least  logical,  if  not 
financially  successful.  He  did  not  generalize  from  one 
or  more  particulars,  but  kept  putting  his  faith  in  men 
only  to  find  that  many  deceived  him.  At  the  rate  he 
was  going,  confident  in  the  honesty  of  all  partners  in 
business,  he  could  have  lived  to  the  end  of  time  only  to 
find  that  it  was  as  easy  to  apply  Christ's  principles  to 
business  as  to  change  flour  into  wheat. 


VIII 

PRECIOUS  CARGOES  FROM 
MANY  PORTS 

1912-19)5 


PRECIOUS  CARGOES  FROM  MANY 
PORTS 

1912-1915 

Late  in  1912  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  conceived  the  idea 
of  a  religious  school  for  the  Baptist  denomination  in 
Chicago.  Objections  were  coming  fast.  "  Jim-Crow- 
ism!  "  Why  then  have  Negro  churches?  Was  a 
school  needed?  Certainly  the  educational  program  of 
the  Negro  Sunday  school  teacher  was  inadequate;  she 
needed  training.  What  of  missionaries  for  home  and 
foreign  lands?  The  ministerial  aspirants  who  had 
neither  time  nor  money  to  go  from  the  black  belt,  those 
whose  preliminary  work  was  too  elementary  for  a  di- 
vinity school — what  of  them?  He  made  the  attempt 
with  a  "  child  of  faith  without  endowment  or 
donors,"  giving  the  church  as  headquarters  for  the 
Chicago  Religious  Training  Seminary,  having  for  its 
object  "  the  preparation  along  the  lines  of  Christian 
service."  One  hundred  pupils  took  advantage  of  the 
courses  offered  in  English,  Theology,  Music,  Mission- 
ary and  Sunday  School  Work.  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  and 
a  few  ministers  of  the  city  conducted  this  promising 
institution  day  and  night  for  eleven  months  in  the  year. 
As  President,  Mr.  Fisher  taught  a  class  but  was  also 

133 


J34 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

a  pupil  in  the  school  of  adversity.  George  Crabbe  was 
correct  in  stating  that  "  individuals  are  envious  of  the 
rank,  wealth,  and  honors  of  each  other."  Mr.  Fisher 
did  not  fail  to  garner  a  goodly  measure  of  that  higher 
criticism,  spoken  of  by  Thackeray  as  pertaining  to 
Henry  Esmond, 

which  neither  books  nor  years  will  give,  but  which  some  men 
get  from  the  silent  teaching  of  adversity;  she  is  a  great  school- 
mistress, as  many  a  poor  fellow  knows  that  has  held  his  hand 
out  to  her  ferrule  and  whimpered  over  his  lesson  before  her 
awful  chair. 

Mr.  Fisher  was  a  pioneer  in  this  field,  but  he  knew 
full  well  that  he  had  instituted  a  system  that  must  pre- 
vail even  in  Chicago  if  heresies  are  to  be  counteracted 
and  churches  are  to  do  more  effective  work.  This  con- 
clusion was  not  a  mere  notion,  but  was  the  reflection  of 
forty-nine  years  of  service  in  the  Baptist  church.  More- 
house College,  formerly  Atlanta  Baptist  Seminary,  his 
alma  mater,  conferred  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Di- 
vinity upon  him  at  its  commencement  exercises  in  1912. 

The  Seminary  in  Chicago  had  grown  to  over  two 
hundred  students.  It  had  purchased  a  beautiful  semi- 
nary home  at  3333  Wabash  Avenue.  Doctor  Fisher 
had  less  time  to  devote  to  the  theoretical  side  of  the 
school,  so  he  began  to  devote  all  of  his  time  to  a  prac- 
tical ministry.  He,  therefore,  served  only  as  trustee. 
The  school  prospered  well  under  President  Curt- 
wright,  and  was  day  by  day  making  bids  for  a  perma- 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 1135 

nent  place  among  the  institutions  of  Chicago.  The 
"  Chicago  Tribune,"  making  an  appeal  for  funds, 
states  that  "  it  has  been  endorsed  by  the  Association  of 
Commerce.*' 

The  church  was  still  moving  on.  The  "  Illinois 
Idea  "  states  that  Pastor  Fisher  preached  three  times 
Sunday  (May  4,  1913). 

While  each  sermon  was  truly  instructive  and  fraught  with 
profundity,  yet  the  discourse  to  the  Knights  of  Pythias  at  3.30 
was  said  by  the  leaders  of  that  order  to  be  the  best  they  had 
ever  listened  to  in  the  City  of  Chicago. 

The  preaching  of  lodge  sermons  was  unusual  for 
Olivet.  The  rostrum  and  pulpit  were  very  sacred  to 
the  pastor,  and  for  that  reason  not  everybody  could 
enter  the  stand.  Especially  was  this  true  of  secret 
societies,  so  after  he  defined  the  "  bounds  of  their  habi- 
tation "  they  generally  preferred  other  churches.  He 
was  not  wholly  against  the  lodge,  for  he  was  himself 
an  Odd-Fellow,  but  he  made  every  organization  sub- 
ordinate to  the  church  and  used  all  occasions  to  preach 
the  gospel. 

In  November  he  went  to  Oakland,  California,  to 
conduct  a  revival  for  Rev.  Mr.  Coleman.  While  there 
he  had  a  chance  to  see  the  "  Golden  West  "  and  to 
visit  many  churches  and  cities.  He  returned  home  in 
December  to  take  up  his  work  at  the  mighty  Olivet. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1914  he  was  asked  to  pay 
another  visit  to  California.     It  happened  that  this  was 


136 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

the  rainy  season  and  he  had  to  be  taken  to  church  in 
a  boat.  The  church  extended  him  a  call,  and  since  his 
work  at  home  was  such  that  any  minister  could  have 
carried  it  on,  he  probably  would  have  accepted  the 
call  if  his  commission  had  read,  "  Row  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  gospel,"  instead  of  "  go  "  and 
"  preach."  True,  he  was  going  to  heaven  by  water, 
but  not  to  church  by  boat. 

He  returned  home  to  complete  the  work  along  the 
lines  started.  The  prime  factor  in  the  church  life  was 
the  saving  of  the  lost  and  the  edifying  of  the  saints, 
with  special  emphasis  on  missions  and  outstations. 
The  church  was  to  take  the  initiative  in  an  educational 
program  as  sanctioned  by  the  Chicago  Religious  Semi- 
nary, where  Christian  workers  could  become  efficient; 
coupled  with  a  social  and  a  civil  service  course  includ- 
ing the  teaching  of  stenography,  dressmaking,  cooking, 
printing,  and  other  useful  arts.  Also  larger  and  more 
efficient  mothers'  unions  where  practical  talks  would  be 
given  were  planned.  Along  the  line  of  organized  phi- 
lanthropy, the  Olivet  Athletic  Club  and  Girls'  Twi- 
light League,  both  planned  for  the  community,  the 
twenty-three  church  clubs  catering  to  the  public,  the 
free  employment  bureau,  the  benevolent  societies  of 
Andrew  and  Peter,  the  Standard  Literary  Society,  the 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  the  Loyal 
Temperance  Legion,  and  the  two  mission  stations  were 
not  enough,  but  he  had  a  plan  for  church  activity  car- 
ing for  individuals  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave. 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 137 

Fifty  of  the  best  years  of  his  life  had  been  spent  in 
the  Baptist  church.  It  was  honor  enough  for  him — in 
fact,  the  highest  honor  a  man  could  attain  in  Chris- 
tian circles — to  be  pastor  of  a  New  Testament  church. 
But  in  fellowship  with  other  churches,  in  Associations, 
State  and  national  conventions  he  did  not  hold  aloof. 
Five  years  before  he  had  organized  the  Bethlehem 
Baptist  Association  of  Chicago  and  Vicinity,  and  had 
drawn  up  its  rules  and  regulations,  and  he  was  directly 
responsible  for  its  being  one  of  the  largest  Associations 
in  Illinois.  He  was  chairman  of  the  committee  that 
drafted  the  constitution  of  the  General  Baptist  State 
Convention  of  Illinois,  served  as  one  of  the  incorpora- 
tors of  this  organization,  and  as  fraternal  commissioner 
from  this  body  to  the  State  Convention  of  Kansas,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  Executive  Committee  from  his 
arrival  in  Chicago.  He  held  no  further  office  until  the 
end  of  1913.  Then  he  was  elected  president  and 
served  the  interests  of  the  people  to  the  best  of  his 
ability.  He  was  also  a  trustee  of  the  Missouri  Baptist 
State  Convention  and  President  of  the  Western  Bap- 
tist Convention,  which  was  representative  of  all  the 
Western  States  and  Territories. 

In  national  affairs  he  realized  that  the  time  had  come 
to  help  young  men  to  the  front.  At  a  Philadelphia 
meeting  of  the  National  Baptist  Convention,  the  Rev. 
Sutton  E.  Griggs  was  allotted  only  twelve  minutes  to 
put  his  plea  before  that  body.  Mr.  Fisher  moved  to 
extend  the  time  of  Mr.  Griggs,  and  the  speaker  made 


138 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

such  an  impression  that  he  has  never  retired  from  the 
stage  of  national  activities.  By  twenty-five  years  of 
persistent  striving  Doctor  Fisher  had  won  for  himself 
a  most  influential  place  in  that  body.  He  served  on 
various  committees,  being  on  the  committee  of  the  Na- 
tional Baptist  Convention  and  the  Southern  Baptist 
Convention  on  the  question  of  "  a  theological  school 
for  Negroes  of  the  United  States."  Many  Northern 
white  Baptists  thought  that  no  form  of  cooperation 
should  have  been  initiated  between  the  National  Bap- 
tist Convention  and  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention. 
The  National  Baptist  Convention  realized  that  the 
question  of  property  in  slaves  had  divided  the  white 
Baptist  denomination  in  1845,  but  thought  that  the 
Southern  Baptists  felt  that  they  owed  the  Negro  a  debt 
which  they  should  pay.  The  National  Baptist  Con- 
vention favored  giving  them  a  chance.  Pastor  Fisher 
was  also  a  life  member,  member  of  the  Executive 
Board,  and  vice-president  of  the  National  Baptist 
Convention,  and  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the 
National  Baptist  Publishing  Board,  and  served  for 
ten  years  on  every  committee  appointed  by  the  Con- 
vention to  determine  the  relations  between  the  Board 
and  the  Convention.  For  over  a  decade  it  was  con- 
sidered his  place  to  move,  after  the  president's  annual 
address,  to  go  into  the  election  of  officers.  Dr.  E.  C. 
Morris  was  thus  always  unanimously  elected.  It  is  the 
consensus  of  opinion  that  the  Convention  would  have 
split  in  Philadelphia  in  1914,  if  it  had  not  been  for 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER B9 

Mr.  Fisher,  and  that  it  would  not  have  made  a  blot  on 
the  escutcheon  of  Chicago  in  1915  if  he  had  lived  to 
help  in  shaping  the  destiny  of  that  body. 

A  very  delicate  matter  had  been  in  litigation  con- 
cerning the  ownership  of  the  National  Baptist  Publish- 
ing House,  and  especially  was  this  evident  at  the  con- 
vention at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  in  September  of 
1913.  The  minutes  of  this  session  state  that  "  Dr.  E. 
J.  Fisher  presiding,  ruled  that  the  commission  (on  the 
matter  of  the  publishing-house)  report  be  referred  to 
the  committee  of  vice-presidents."  This  series  of  in- 
vestigations as  to  who  owned  and  should  control  the 
possessions  of  the  Boards  of  the  National  Baptist  Con- 
vention and  the  impudence  of  the  Publishing  Board 
were  certain  to  involve  lengthy  conflicts.  All  of  this, 
however,  was  put  aside  for  the  moment  and  interest 
directed  to  a  National  Gospel  Campaign.  Five  field 
workers  were  appointed,  and  Doctor  Fisher  was  one 
of  the  active  forces  in  this  effort  to  reach  the  unsaved 
and  to  create  more  spirituality  among  the  saved.  Al- 
ready over  ten  thousand  souls  had  been  garnered  into 
the  kingdom  through  his  instrumentality,  and  more 
protracted  meetings  were  in  view. 

The  Rev.  S.  W.  Batchlar,  Shiloh  Baptist  Church, 
Indianapolis,  Indiana,  wrote  to  him  March  28,  1914: 

My  dear  Brother: 

I  am  writing  to  you  again  asking  you  to  consent  to  come 
to  Indianapolis  to  assist  me  in  a  ten-days'  meeting.  .  . 
L 


]40 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

The  Baptists  of  Indianapolis  are  very  badly  in  need  of  some 
good  gospel  preacher  to  come  in  here  and  really  preach  the 
gospel. 

I  do  not  know  of  a  man  who  can  do  that  one  thing  better 
than  you.  I  want  the  people  of  Indianapolis  to  be  convinced 
that  there  are  some  real  qualified  preachers  among  us  who  do 
know  how  to  conduct  a  successful  revival.  The  time  is  ripe; 
if  you  can  come,  you  will  without  doubt  have  a  great  success. 

Yours  in  His  name, 

S.  W.  Batchlar. 

If  he  had  desired  to  devote  his  time  exclusively  to 
evangelistic  work  he  would  have  kept  busy  the  year 
round.  However,  in  spite  of  the  growing  work  of  a 
large  pastorate,  there  is  no  State  in  the  Union  where 
Negroes  are  numerous  in  which  he  has  not  conducted 
revivals,  and  there  is  hardly  a  Negro  settlement  which 
his  influence  has  not  permeated.  His  last  large  effort 
was  in  Los  Angeles,  California,  at  the  Mount  Zion 
Church,  in  February  of  1914.  All  the  pastors  of  the 
city  united  in  this  effort.  Standing-room  was  hardly 
procurable.  The  churches  took  on  new  life  and  many 
hundreds  were  added  to  them. 

This  result  was  typical  of  the  many  meetings  that 
were  held  from  time  to  time.  Many  thousands  of  souls 
were  added  to  the  churches.  Many  of  these  are  living, 
doing  yeoman  Christian  service,  while  many  others 
have  slept  to  wake  no  more.  Great  good  has  followed 
his  numerous  protracted  meetings.  There  is  no  way  to 
find  out  the  exact  numbers  converted  under  his  minis- 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER Hd 

try,  for  as  he  sailed  in  the  great  sea  the  waves  of  his 
influence  rippled  far  away,  and  left  no  further  trace 
of  the  vessel's  course  other  than  the  scores  who  today 
greet  his  posterity  and  call  them  blessed. 

This  same  year  he  was  called  upon  to  be  the  re- 
ligious statesman  of  his  race  in  an  appeal  against  the 
house  bill  of  Congressmen  Edwards  and  Aswell  for 
segregating  government  employees. 

Mr.  Chairman: 

I  appear  before  you  and  this  assembly  to  make  a  minority 
report  on  the  two  bills  offered  for  the  segregation  of  the  Negro 
from  the  white  race  in  the  government  employ. 

In  all  the  history  of  civilization  the  country  that  denied  the 
poorest  citizen  equal  justice  has  fallen.  The  races  cannot  be 
kept  socially  and  economically  distinct.  Neither  race  wishes 
it ;  witness  the  great  mulatto  population  of  the  South.  A  policy 
of  segregation  breeds  unrest,  fosters  anarchy,  stirs  up  social 
antagonism,  and  defies  the  ameliorating  influences  of  Christian 
brotherhood.  There  is  no  white  or  black  supremacy,  only  the 
supremacy  of  service  to  humanity.  The  prosperity  of  a  nation 
is  most  secure  when  all  elements  and  classes  of  that  nation 
are  at  peace  with  each  other.  We  have  one  God,  one  country, 
and  one  flag.  Partisan  bitterness  and  vengeful  spirit  do  not 
develop  friendly  relations  between  the  two  races. 

The  denial  of  freedom  in  any  of  its  phases  to  a  race  tends 
to  develop  irresponsibility  in  that  race.  Responsibility  must 
rest  upon  opportunity  of  the  human  family.  You  cannot  crush 
out  of  a  race  the  common  rights  of  humanity  and  expect  that 
race  to  make  the  best  citizens.  Whatever  separation  comes 
must  be  an  individual  separation,  not  racial  but  meritorious. 
Let  the  separation  be  between  the  good  and  the  bad,  the  effi- 


142 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

cient  and  the  inefficient,  the  industrious  and  the  indolent,  not 
determined  by  color.  .  .  The  recognition  of  irrational  legis- 
lation by  the  government  is  the  beginning  of  an  influence  that 
will  put  this  nation  to  shame.  It  is  as  unfair  to  the  white 
youth  as  it  is  to  the  black,  to  teach  him  that  superiority  is  based 
on  anything  other  than  character,  intelligence,  and  recognition 
of  the  supremacy  of  God.  .  . 

There  were  two  distinct  civilizations  begun  in  this  country — 
one  at  Jamestown,  Virginia,  and  the  other  at  Plymouth,  Mas- 
sachusetts. One  was  based  upon  the  idea  of  inferiority  and 
ignorance  of  one  class  of  its  people  and  the  superiority  and 
knowledge  of  the  other  class;  the  other  was  based  upon 
equality,  freedom,  and  knowledge,  for  which  we  contend.  The 
world's  greatest  Teacher  said  over  nineteen  hundred  years 
ago,  "A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand."  The 
great  Lincoln  paraphrased  this  into  the  statement  that  the 
country  could  not  exist  half-free  and  half-slave.  If  this  segre- 
gation law  obtains,  the  saying  of  immortal  Lincoln  must  fall. 
The  nation  was  humiliated  at  a  tremendous  sacrifice  of  her  best 
blood.  Shall  we  at  this  late  date  resurrect  these  idols  that  have 
already  cost  us  too  much,  by  a  separation  of  ourselves  with  a 
revengeful  sectional  spirit  that  will  be  difficult  to  erase? 

The  slavery  of  cast  and  color  is  more  galling,  more  intoler- 
able, more  expensive  than  physical  slavery.  Saint  Paul  has 
told  us,  "  God  has  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  for 
to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth."  Who  is  so  ignorant 
today  as  to  believe  or  even  repeat  the  old  superstition  that  the 
Negro  is  not  included  as  a  part  of  the  "  nations  of  the  earth  "? 
Evidently  all  discriminating  laws  are  wrong.  .  .  A  nation 
cannot  live  separately  within  a  nation.  The  proposed  law  is 
an  inconsistency  of  thought,  illogical  and  impracticable.  Is  it 
just  or  unjust,  fair  or  unfair?  Will  it  lead  to  the  betterment 
of  all  concerned?  Will  it  give  more  efficient  service?  Will 
the  government  profit  by  it?     The  answer  to  each  question  is, 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER  143 

No!  Physically,  temperamentally,  and  mentally  there  is  no 
line  of  demarcation  between  the  races.  There  is  no  ideal  the 
Anglo-Saxon  can  approve  that  the  Negro  cannot  attain.  He 
has  been  just  as  brave  and  courageous,  just  as  polite  and  intel- 
ligent, just  as  progressive,  just  as  productive,  and  just  as 
worthy.  He  has  always  shown  the  best  of  feeling  for  the 
government,  has  always  been  stanch  and  true  to  his  country. 
"  Servant  of  all  "  is  his  title.  He  has  hewn  the  wood  and 
drawn  the  water  for  others  with  a  fidelity  that  is  wonderful 
and  a  patience  that  is  marvelous.  As  an  example  of  patient 
fidelity  to  humble  duty,  he  stands  without  a  peer. 

His  conduct  in  the  war  that  resulted  in  his  freedom  was  as 
rare  a  bit  of  magnanimity  as  the  world  has  ever  seen.  The 
helpless  ones  of  this  oppression,  in  his  power,  nobly  stayed  his 
hands  from  vengeance  and,  at  last,  when  he  held  up  his  hands 
that  his  bands  might  be  loosed  or  severed,  his  emancipator  found 
them  scarred  with  toil  unrequited,  free  from  blood  of  men,  ex- 
cept that  which  was  shed  in  honorable  open  battle.  He  vies 
with  the  white  man  in  pouring  forth  his  blood  like  the  waters 
of  a  stream  to  enrich  the  soil,  from  which  has  sprung  the  great 
tree  of  liberty.  Yet,  sirs,  we  have  seen  him  hanged  from  its 
stalwart  limbs,  and  bound  at  its  rugged  base.  His  body  has 
been  murdered,  but  his  will  is  unbent.  We  as  a  government 
have  said,  "  Thus  far  and  no  farther  shalt  thou  go."  Shall 
we  murder  the  mind,  the  hand,  and  the  soul  that  have  sup- 
ported us  and  always  borne  us  good-will?  Shall  we  strike 
the  hand  that  fed  us?  Shall  we  permit  our  brother  to  ask  us 
for  bread  and  we  give  him  a  stone? 

Then  he  uttered  a  prophecy  that  may  yet  be  ful- 
filled. 

Gentlemen,  if  you  harden  the  hearts  of  the  present  genera- 
tion by  the  enactment  of  cruel  legislation,  your  children  and 


]44 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

mine  will  pay  for  it  at  a  greater  cost  than  that  of  '61 -'65, 
in  blood,  in  tears,  in  money,  in  misery,  in  sorrow,  and  in  human 
life. 

An  address  of  this  kind  could  not  have  been  repre- 
sentative unless  he  had  been  gaining  in  popularity  with 
the  brethren.  When  he  was  a  friend  you  knew  it,  and 
when  he  was  an  enemy  you  did  not  have  to  wonder  as 
to  his  attitude.  He  had  an  easy  adaptability  that  kept 
him  in  close  contact  with  the  commoner  and  the  aristo- 
crat, the  untutored  and  the  learned.  His  presence  was 
familiar  and  his  manner  soothing.  In  his  discussions 
he  was  logical  and  even  waxed  eloquent,  and  in  his  de- 
termination to  carry  conviction  he  was  a  terror  when 
antagonized  either  in  private  or  public.  He  had  noth- 
ing that  was  not  at  the  disposal  of  his  friends.  His 
home  was  the  rendezvous  of  visiting  ministers.  Many 
a  time  he  brought  home  a  hungry  traveler,  and  the  mis- 
tress of  the  manse  with  less  than  a  loaf  and  not  a  small 
fish  in  the  larder,  like  the  widow  of  old,  would  make 
the  cake  from  the  last  of  the  meal  in  the  barrel,  de- 
pending upon  faith  as  a  foraging  agent  for  the  next  de- 
mand. Often  too  has  his  family  seen  the  visitor  take 
the  last  roll  from  the  tray  or  spear  the  last  piece  of 
meat  from  the  platter,  while  telling  of  some  amusing 
incident  that  happened  in  Georgia  or  Tennessee.  One 
brother  remarked  that  he  was  about  starved  when  he 
met  Mr.  Fisher,  and  the  meal  at  his  home  saved  his 
life.  In  Conventions,  Associations,  Church,  and  State 
was  he  ever  loyal  to  righteous  men  and  measures. 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 145 

Certainly,  if  there  is  not  an  agreement  with  all  of 
Doctor  Fisher's  strivings,  there  must  be  admiration  for, 
and  faith  in,  him  because  of  his  convictions.  To  be  a 
worker  politically  for  the  "  Grand  Old  Party  "  de- 
lighted him;  to  labor  zealously  for  men  and  measures 
he  deemed  worthy  of  his  support,  and  to  oppose  men 
and  measures  which  would  tear  ultimately  at  the  very 
vitals  of  democratic  government,  was  patriotism  enough 
for  him.  Not  a  "  hat-in-the-hand,"  profiteering  poli- 
tician who  would  sell  his  birthright  to  forward  a  selfish 
ambition !  No !  There  is  no  record  of  his  ever  receiv- 
ing filthy  lucre.  Not  office-seeking,  conniving  at  evil 
to  get  in  touch  with  men  doing  big  jobs.  No!  The 
jobs  sought  him. 

National  Taft  Bureau, 

The  Raleigh  Hotel, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

The  Rev.  E.  J.  Fisher, 
2940  South  Park  Boulevard, 
Chicago,  Illinois. 

My  dear  Sir: 

I  have  been  informed  of  the  active  interest  you  are  taking 
in  the  renomination  of  President  Taft,  and  beg  to  assure  you 
of  our  hearty  appreciation  of  your  cooperation.  .  . 

The  letters  and  telegrams  which  we  are  receiving  daily  show 
a  constantly  increasing  Taft  sentiment,  and  we  have  every  rea- 
son to  believe  that  the  President  will  be  renominated  on  the  first 
ballot. 


146  THE  MASTER'S  SLAVE 

I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  from  you  from  time  to  time  as  to 
conditions  in  your  State. 

With  very  best  wishes,  I  remain, 

Very  truly  yours, 

Wm.  B.  McKinley,  Director. 

Evidently  Mr.  McKinley  had  been  informed  by 
outside  forces.  In  reply  to  the  director,  Doctor  Fisher 
gave  a  reason  for  his  policy. 

You,  Mr.  McKinley,  have  my  cooperation  because  of  the 
party  and  chieftain  which  you  represent.  For  thirty-two  years 
I  have  had  the  interest  of  the  Grand  Old  Party  at  heart,  work- 
ing with  it  but  neither  changing  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left.  I 
have  never  asked  for  any  position  in  the  party,  only  working  to 
the  finish,  and  supporting  every  measure  which  I  was  persuaded 
to  believe  was  right. 

After  all,  could  a  man  be  in  political  affairs  and 
emerge  untarnished?  Truly,  Doctor  Fisher's  life  is 
an  attestation.  But  even  granting  this,  Was  it  worth 
while?  We  have  only  to  look  for  names  of  Negroes 
who  received  special  appointments  under  the  adminis- 
trations he  helped  to  foster.  Probably  the  Illinois 
administration  in  city  and  State  was  as  favorable  to 
Negroes  during  Doctor  Fisher's  participation  in  legis- 
lative affairs  as  that  of  any  other  city  or  State  in  the 
Union.  No  doubt  the  City  of  Chicago  outstripped 
other  places  in  its  kindly  attitude  toward  the  Negro, 
and  the  present  or  recent  unparallelled  influx  into  this 
Northern  section  must  be  laid  at  the  door  of  opportu- 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 147 

nities  not  only  in  the  field  of  economics,  but  in  religion 
and  politics  which  Chicago  offers. 

Such  a  record  of  service  naturally  attracted  com- 
mendation from  those  who  recognize  and  follow 
leadership.  The  two  letters  that  follow,  though  pos- 
sessing humorous  features,  illustrate  the  adoration  and 
even  worship  and  devotedness  of  the  common  people 
to  true  leadership : 

Dr.  Fisher,  Chicago.  111.  sir 

you  may  not  remembir  me  I  am  the  one  who  weight  on  you 
in  Indianapolis  Ind  sir  I  think  a  man  of  your  standing  it  will 
be  a  honor  for  me  to  have  a  presn  frome  you  at  my  marrying 
so  anything  you  send  will  be  glad  rece  but  I  tell  you  what  I 

wood  like  you  send  me  that  is  a  cut  glass  vace.     I  am 

P.  S.  Just  send  anything  you  like  I  just  wont  a  presen  at 
my  maring  from  the  Biggest  Baptis  preacher  in  the  union  sure 
do  send  Just  somtin  if  not  the  cut  glass  vace. 

The  next  letter  is  interesting  in  the  use  and  misuse  of 

the  term  Bishop. 

Detroit,  Mich.,  Dec.  2,  1914 

Bishop  E.  J.  Fisher  D  D  L  L  D 
Bishop  Baptists  of  Chicago 

Dear  Bishop 
It  affords  me  profound  pleasure  to  write  to  you.  I  will  be  in 
Chicago  the  22  of  Dec.  You  know  Bishop  you  are  my  ideal 
and  I  highly  esteem  you  above  all  the  Baptists  Bishops  in 
Chicago.  I  desire  to  be  in  your  charge  during  my  stay  in  the 
West. 

I  remain  yours  in  Christ  , 


]48 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

The  idiosyncrasies  of  Pastor  Fisher  easily  distin- 
guished him  from  that  "  numerous  piece  of  monstros- 
ity "  called  the  public.  This  was  true  even  of  his 
noble  physique,  towering  over  six  feet,  at  least  dis- 
cernible above  the  stature  of  ordinary  men.  He 
dressed  extremely  well.  He  was  proud  of  his  calling 
and  of  his  position,  and  whenever  he  walked  the 
streets  his  personality  caused  the  casual  pedestrian  to 
look  around  to  see  what  sort  of  individual  he  was.  On 
Easter,  especially,  was  it  a  pleasing  sight  to  see  Mr. 
Fisher  with  high  silk  hat,  Prince  Albert  suit,  clean 
linen  as  "  spotless  as  a  lily-white  doe,"  walnut  crutches 
with  brazen  trimmings  glittering  in  the  sunlight,  en 
route  to  Olivet.  To  the  discomfort,  however,  of  his 
daughter  or  son  accompanying  him,  he  spoke  to  every 
passer-by,  being  unembarrassed  when  the  courtesy  was 
not  returned. 

In  1 9 1 4  the  struggle  for  control  of  national  Baptist 
affairs  was  at  its  height.  Dr.  E.  W.  D.  Isaac,  Corre- 
sponding Secretary  of  the  Baptist  Young  People's 
Union  Board,  wrote  on  October  1 7 : 

The  church  supply  business  is  gone.  The  copyrights  have 
passed  from  us.  The  little  Negro  dolls  have  left  us.  Now  the 
denominational  paper  is  gone.  I  hope  you  will  get  busy  and 
exert  yourself  concerning  these  matters  before  everything  that 
the  denomination  has  is  gone. 

Much  apprehension  and  fierce  denominational  strife 
resulted  when  the  Publishing  Board,  led  by  Dr.  R.  H. 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 
At  the  Age  of  58 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER  149 

Boyd,  took,  so  it  is  alleged,  properties  owned  by  the 
National  Baptist  Convention.  Although  there  was  not 
an  organic  split,  yet  in  sentiment  there  were  two  fac- 
tions established,  one  led  by  Dr.  E.  C.  Morris  and  the 
Convention,  and  the  other  led  by  Dr.  R.  H.  Boyd  and 
the  Publishing  Board.  Churches  and  pastors  lined  up 
with  one  faction  or  the  other. 

In  a  letter  to  Doctor  Fisher  the  first  of  December, 
Doctor  Isaac  prophetically  states: 

I  have  contended  for  ten  long  years  that  a  law-suit  is  the 
inevitable.  I  think  so  yet,  and  the  quicker  we  have  it  the  better 
for  all  concerned. 

At  every  denominational  gathering  the  fight  was  on. 
A  meeting  was  called  at  Nashville  for  December 
29,  of  the  commissioners  from  the  National  Baptist 
Convention  joined  by  representative  persons  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
conciling the  rebellious  Publishing  Board.  The  Pub- 
lishing Board  attempted  to  flood  the  commission  with 
outsiders,  hoping  to  create  confusion  and  disorder  and 
to  break  up  the  meeting. 

The  chairman  says: 

Yours  of  the  sixteenth  instant  is  received.  I  am  glad  to 
know  that  you  will  be  here  on  the  twenty-ninth.  We  need 
somebody  here  who  has  the  courage  to  bring  things  to  pass.  .  . 
I  will  be  glad  to  see  you  and  to  have  a  conference  with  you 
before  the  commission  is  called  to  order.  It  is  now  time  for 
action;  any  further  delay  is  dangerous,  and  the  people  whom 
we  represent  must  suffer  the  consequence. 


150 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

The  controversy  waxed  hotter  and  proved  helpful 
in  correcting  loose  business  arrangements  and  faulty 
methods  that  had  been  growing  up  for  years  and  in 
exposing  Doctor  Boyd's  Board  in  gathering  to  itself 
that  for  which  the  people  had  sacrified  so  nobly,  as 
they  thought,  for  themselves  and  for  the  Convention. 

The  newspapers  were  full  of  the  conflict.  A  battle 
of  pens  was  waged,  Doctor  Sutton  E.  Griggs  uphold- 
ing the  Convention,  and  Doctor  Boyd  the  Publishing 
Board.  There  could  be  no  advantage  gained  by  either 
side  by  this  publicity ;  a  peaceful  settlement  needed  to 
be  tried. 

In  a  letter  to  Doctor  Griggs,  February  1 1 ,  Doctor 
Fisher  says : 

I  have  noticed  with  peculiar  interest  in  your  paper,  and  that 
of  Doctor  Boyd,  the  manner  in  which  you  write  each  other  up 
before  the  world,  and  I  cannot  see  what  either  of  you  hope  to 
gain  by  so  doing.  Have  you  forgotten  the  old  saying,  "  Right 
the  day  will  win  "?  I  sincerely  hope  that  .  .  .  every  denomi- 
national paper  will  cease  its  writing  respecting  the  pros  and 
cons  of  our  National  Convention  affairs,  and  let  the  people  of 
God  come  together  with  hearts  of  love  and  faith  in  God,  and 
all  matters  can  be  easily  and  peacefully  settled. 


IX 

INTO  THE  HARBOR 

1915 


INTO  THE  HARBOR 
1915 

Doctor  Fisher  never  knew  that  his  end  would  come 
in  the  midst  of  his  public  brilliancy.  On  January  26 
his  church  tendered  him  a  reception  at  his  home.  His 
twelfth  anniversary  message  to  his  church  appears  in 
the  "  Olivet  Herald  "  for  January  3 1 : 

To  the  Officers  and  Members  with  the  friends  of  Olivet: 

Beloved,  it  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  appear  before  you  to- 
day (January  26),  to  recount  the  labors  of  the  past  twelve 
years'  stewardship.  I  was  not  perfect,  and  therefore  my  ad- 
ministration has  not  been  perfect,  but  I  have  had  a  perfect 
pattern,  which  was  Christ  Jesus  after  whom  I  have  been  fol- 
lowing day  and  night. 

We  began  our  work  together  complete  strangers,  one  not 
knowing  the  other ;  and  I,  a  Southerner,  coming  to  you  with  all 
of  my  Southern  traits  and  peculiarities,  had  to  learn  you  and 
your  ways.  You  also  had  to  learn  me  and  my  ways.  We  began 
from  the  bottom  with  not  a  dime's  worth  of  anything  on  earth 
save  faith  in  God  and  confidence  in  ourselves,  and  agreed  to- 
gether to  rent  this  basement  floor  for  sixty-five  dollars  per  month 
for  two  years.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time  we  arranged  to 
purchase  the  building  from  the  parties  to  whom  the  Supreme 
Court  gave  it,  Charles  M.  Barnes  of  the  Englewood  Sash  and 
Door  Company,  at  a  cost  of  twenty-eight  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars,  in  1905.  We  then  let  the  contract  for  the  comple- 
tion of  the  building  at  a  cost  of  seventeen  thousand  five  hun- 

153 


]54 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

died  dollars.  In  order  that  we  might  be  able  to  purchase,  I 
loaned  the  last  cash  dollar  I  had,  which  was  one  thousand, 
without  one  dime  of  interest  on  the  same. 

Our  enrolment  showed  about  six  hundred  names  as  mem- 
bers, and  today  it  shows  about  thirty-nine  hundred.  The  debt 
of  forty-six  thousand  dollars  has  been  reduced  to  less  than 
three  thousand  dollars  with  all  expenses  paid  to  date.  We 
have  a  well-organized  Sabbath  school  with  about  fifty  officials, 
a  splendid  Baptist  Young  People's  Union,  and  a  Standard 
Literary  Society  among  our  young  people  that  is  not  surpassed 
anywhere  in  this  country  for  its  real  worth.  We  also  have  a 
Brotherhood  and  Sisterhood  of  Andrew  and  Peter  which  takes 
care  of  the  membership  by  giving  them  four  dollars  per  week 
in  sickness,  and  sixty  dollars  upon  the  day  of  their  death — they 
have  sufficient  funds  in  the  bank  today  for  this  purpose.  We 
also  have  two  missions  supported  by  us,  with  seventeen  other 
auxiliaries,  making  twenty-three  in  ioto.  We  believe  in  the 
power  of  organization. 

When  I  came  to  you  there  were  very  few  persons  in  the 
church  attempting  to  own  homes.  Today  there  are  more  than 
three  hundred.  Our  church  is  making  through  its  mission  cir- 
cles more  than  two  hundred  visits  weekly  among  the  people, 
and  is  furnishing  help  in  many  cases.  We  have  been  giving 
more  than  a  thousand  dollars  a  year  to  missions  alone  and 
several  hundred  for  education.  Our  church  is  divided  into 
missionary  and  educational  groups  working  the  year  around. 
We  also  have  a  training-school  running  day  and  night,  reach- 
ing the  needs  of  the  people,  men  and  women.  We  have  three 
financial  secretaries  and  one  regular  church  clerk,  besides  a 
secretary  for  each  auxiliary.  We  have  over  fifty  professional 
men  in  the  church,  including  five  attorneys,  eight  physicians, 
four  pharmacists,  three  real  estate  men,  nine  business  men  and 
others,  all  of  whom  have  united  with  Olivet  save  two  during 
my  pastorate.     We  have  performed  two  hundred  and  forty- 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER ^55 

five  marriages,  buried  two  hundred  persons,  immersed  fifteen 
hundred  persons,  and  our  finance  has  not  been  less  than  ten 
thousand  dollars  annually  for  all  purposes.  Today  we  have 
on  our  sick  list  ten  members. 

Sisters  and  brethren,  Rev.  G.  E.  Duncan,  my  assistant 
pastor,  deserves  much  credit  for  the  loyal  help  he  has  rendered 
me  in  this  work  of  the  Lord.  There  has  not  been  a  single 
thing  between  him  and  me  in  our  ten  years  of  acquaintance- 
ship. Let  me  thank  you,  every  one  separately,  and  then  col- 
lectively, for  the  aid  you  have  rendered  in  the  work  of  the 
Lord.  My  entire  board  of  twenty-three  officers,  save  four, 
have  united  with  the  church  since  I  have  been  your  pastor. 

Now,  as  our  great  National  Baptist  Convention  with  its 
two  million  five  hundred  thousand  members  is  to  convene  with 
us  September  10,  let  me  urge  you  to  leave  no  stone  unturned 
for  the  members'  comfort  and  happiness  during  their  stay 
among  us.     "  Arise,  and  let  us  go  hence  "  (John  14:   31). 

Thanking  you  for  the  joy  you  added  to  my  family,  and 

praying  the  blessing  of  God  upon  you,  your  homes,  and  your 

friends,  I  beg  to  remain 

Yours  in  Him,      „    T   _ 

E.  J.  Fisher. 

In  this  same  month  the  Rev.  C.  H.  Young,  of  At- 
lanta, Georgia,  conducted  a  revival  for  him  in  which 
there  were  many  converted.  The  anniversary  occa- 
sion was  also  the  scene  of  rejoicing  over  souls  as  well 
as  other  blessings  that  God  had  given  to  the  church. 

Doctor  Fisher  was  fast  breaking  under  incessant 
labors.  The  winters  were  cold  and  dreary,  but  the 
pastor  of  Olivet  left  his  home  walking  over  ice  and 
through  snow  to  church.  The  wintry  blasts  of  snow 
coated  his  garments  a  sparkling  white,  numbed  his  grip 
M 


156 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

on  the  crutches,  and  decorated  his  face  with  frozen 
mixtures  of  breath  and  snow.  With  cloth  hat  pulled 
down  over  his  ears,  with  ulster  buckled  around  a  muf- 
fled neck,  and  with  heavy  boot,  the  minister  plied  his 
way  religiously  from  his  warm  house.  During  his 
twelve  years  at  Olivet  there  were  not  a  score  of  meet- 
ings, concerts,  entertainments,  or  worshipful  service  in 
which  he  was  not  present  at  least  a  part  of  the  time  un- 
less hindered  by  sickness  or  absence  from  the  city. 

This  constant  strain  was  severe  upon  his  physical 
body,  but  it  shows  the  perpetual  care  required  of  a 
good  shepherd  for  his  sheep.  The  day  of  the  minis- 
terial consumer  who  sleeps  all  night  and  half  the  day 
and  rests  the  other  half  is  fast  passing.  Probably  the 
time  will  come,  as  it  should,  when  along  with  the  re- 
ports of  the  different  workers  of  churches  will  come  a 
report  from  the  minister  stating  the  amount  of  his  activi- 
ties. Such  a  report  should  show  an  equal  distribution 
of  hours  spent  in  work,  recreation,  and  rest,  with  an 
allowance  of  one  day  in  seven.  In  the  case  of  the 
Negro  shepherd,  he  gets  more  of  his  share  of  work  and 
little  or  no  recreation  and  rest. 

Perhaps  no  Negro  minister  of  the  gospel  ever  toiled 
harder,  was  opposed  more,  complained  less,  or  accom- 
plished more. 

Some  think  there  may  have  been  ground  for  some  of 
the  opposition.  Men  will  not  submit  tamely  to  iron- 
handed  rule.  On  the  other  hand,  human  nature  is  so 
normally  fallible  that  where  men  have  equality  of  op- 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 157 

portunity  and  office,  if  one  person  succeeds  markedly 
above  the  other,  jealousy  and  its  sequel,  opposition, 
come  from  many,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  to  attract 
attention  from  their  own  incapabilities. 

If  Doctor  Fisher's  ambition  was  to  be  the  leader  of 
the  Baptist  forces  in  the  Gateway  to  the  Middle  West, 
indeed  it  was  a  laudable  one,  the  logical  result  of  his 
position  as  pastor  of  the  mother  church.  He  fought  a 
victorious  fight  against  all  who  dared  usurp  his  pre- 
rogatives. He  had  built  his  work  with  a  will  indomi- 
table. He  never  pastored  a  split,  and  no  church  dared 
split  under  him.  He  was  pastor  of  his  church,  so  he 
said,  "  from  the  pulpit  to  the  backdoor  and  to  the 
grave-yard."  But  he  would  rend  any  Association  or 
Convention  if  he  believed  his  views  to  be  right,  and 
that  such  a  course  would  advance  God's  kingdom. 

Conspiracies  were  formed  by  many  to  hurt  the  in- 
fluence of  Olivet,  and  even  a  "  Union  "  was  organ- 
ized to  pass  on  the  eligibility  of  churches  to  receive  aid 
from  the  white  Baptists.  This  "  Union  "  tried  to  elimi- 
nate him  and  Olivet  as  factors  of  power  with  white 
Baptists.  However,  the  white  brethren  considering 
Olivet  stronger  than  the  combined  churches  of  the 
"  Union  "  would  follow  no  policy  that  did  not  include 
Olivet.  The  organization  remained  in  existence  two 
years,  but  did  not  succeed. 

Doctor  Fisher  never  lost  a  battle,  but  the  energy 
used  in  fighting  could  have  been  conserved  if  men  had 
taken  time  to  understand  him.     The  thing  that  told 


158 THE  MASTER'S  SLAVE 

most  on  his  life  was  the  opposition  of  those  men  who 
had  lived  on  his  bounty.  He  continued  to  labor  in  his 
course  despite  the  accumulation  of  every  form  of  perse- 
cution. Venturing  on  the  Providence  of  God  in  mak- 
ing an  experiment  in  the  Northwest  at  a  time  when  the 
results  were  problematical,  he  had  been  useful  in  con- 
verting thousands  to  Christ.  He  is  not  permitted  to 
witness  the  triumph  of  the  system  which  he  did  so  much 
to  inaugurate,  but  he  did  see  that  even  churches  which 
did  not  wish  to  cooperate  with  him,  relied  in  a  large 
measure  upon  his  methods  for  their  increase  in  power 
and  usefulness.  When  the  memory  of  his  antagonists 
will  be  forgotten  or  remembered,  chiefly,  because  of 
their  antagonism  to  him,  the  church  with  which  his 
name  and  life  are  associated  will  continue  to  operate 
as  a  potent  factor  in  hastening  the  latter-day  glories 
of  the  Lord.  This  is  not  an  idle  prophecy.  It  is  be- 
ing fulfilled  today.  The  Olivet  Baptist  Church  stands 
today  the  most  vital  moral  force  in  the  Negro  race  and 
the  largest  Protestant  church  in  the  world,  with  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Lacey  Kirk  Williams,  pastor,  used  mightily 
by  God. 

Ah!  But  the  story  might  have  been  different  and 
the  end  might  have  come  sooner  had  it  not  been  for 
Pastor  Fisher's  angelic  wife.  She  was  expected  to  re- 
tail to  her  husband  grievances  of  some  weakling  too 
prudent  to  bring  his  trouble  directly  to  the  pastor,  but 
she  was  too  thoughtful  to  do  that.  She  knew  full  well 
the  agonies  of  suffering  her  husband  had  to  endure 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 159 

without  heaping  further  burdens  on  him.  His  restless 
nights  told  of  his  burdens  and  of  the  tales  of  weal  and 
woe  poured  into  his  soul;  of  the  mournful  recital  of 
family  troubles;  of  the  ingratitude  of  children  recalled 
from  hazy  memories ;  and  of  personal  grievances  made 
out  of  trivialities.  "  You  have  plenty,"  wrote  a  promi- 
nent clubwoman,  dissatisfied  because  Pastor  Fisher 
did  not  announce  her  business, 

and  should  remember  that  you  get  a  great  deal  of  it  by 
grinding  it  out  of  humanity.  .  .  You  happen  to  strike  one  that 
does  not  have  to  live  on  the  unfortunates,  and  you  are  not 
capable  of  advertising  me  either.  .  .  I  have  lived  in  Chicago 
twenty-three  years,  and  succeeded  in  business  and  have  made 
openings  through  our  business  for  others  to  succeed  in  the  same 
line.     What  have  you  done? 

The  faithful  wife  read  scores  of  other  letters  of  abuse 
and  disappointment.  But  who  made  his  life  as  happy 
as  it  was?  The  mistress  of  the  manse!  Who  kept 
Doctor  Fisher  from  resigning  and  made  him  resigned? 
Who  wiped  away  the  frowns  of  fortune,  and  who  with 
winsome  kiss  coaxed  smiles  to  his  ebony  cheeks?  Mis- 
tress of  the  manse,  "  Mary  in  the  house  of  God,  a 
Martha  in  her  own,"  mother,  woman,  let  Ruskin  sing 
of  you!  "  Such  helpmeets  you  are  that  no  man  can 
stand  without  that  help  nor  labor  in  his  own  strength." 
The  work  night  and  day  was  wearing  Doctor  Fisher 
out.  On  the  fourth  of  January  his  friend,  Dr.  S.  L. 
M.  Francis,  pastor  of  the  Providence  Baptist  Church 
and  Dean  of  the  Chicago  Religious  Seminary,  died. 


160 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

The  result  of  his  death  on  Doctor  Fisher  can  hardly  be 
estimated.  He  took  a  much  needed  trip  for  rest  the 
middle  of  March,  but  whenever  he  was  known  to  be 
in  a  town  he  was  marshalled  into  service.  While  in 
Cincinnati  for  rest  his  life-long  friend,  the  Rev.  Samuel 
S.  Sisson,  compelled  him  to  preach.  He  carried  on  a 
revival  for  Mr.  Sisson,  but  the  death  of  one  of  his 
stanch  workers  necessitated  his  coming  home. 

..    .      XVT.f  Cincinnati,  March  29,  1915. 

My  dear  Wife: 

I  am  still  suffering.     I  hope  you  are  all  well.     I  will  leave 

for  home  tomorrow  and  reach  there,  D.  V.,  Wednesday  at  7 

a.  m.     Give  my  love  to  the  children.     Sam  sends  love  to  all. 

He  is  doing  well  here.    I  hope  everything  goes  well.     I  am  ever 

Your  husband, 

E.  J.  Fisher. 

His  friends  and  family  saw  the  strain,  but  Doctor 
Fisher  would  not  stop.  He  had  an  inexhaustible  fund 
of  nervous  energy.  His  calmness  and  serenity  of  mind 
had  a  most  beneficial  effect  in  keeping  him  up  so  long. 
He  could  not  rest.  Some  were  storming  his  ship  with 
blasts  of  opposition.  He  must  master  his  fate,  captain 
his  soul,  and  safely  anchor  in  calm  waters.  Even 
though  a  Brutus  unsheathed  his  blade  and  struck  a 
ghastly  wound  he  yielded  not.  With  double  determi- 
nation he  set  out  to  do  nobler  and  grander  works  for 
Christ. 

The  first  Sunday  in  April  was  Easter.  He  took 
his  accustomed  place,  but  was  barely  able  to  finish  his 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER ]6± 

message.  He  rested  Monday.  Tuesday  he  felt  re- 
vived and  went  to  the  Pekin  Theater  in  an  effort  to 
put  Mr.  Oscar  DePriest  over  as  the  first  Negro  alder- 
man in  Chicago,  and  Mr.  DePriest  was  elected.  It 
is  pleasant,  as  well  as  beautifully  characteristic  of 
Doctor  Fisher,  to  recall  that  the  illness  threatening  his 
life  did  not  diminish  the  endeavors  so  nobly  begun  in 
behalf  of  others.  In  the  course  of  his  address  he 
swooned ;  he  was  taken  to  a  near-by  drug-store  where 
he  regained  consciousness. 

Wednesday,  his  wife  thought  it  best  to  send  him  to 
Provident  Hospital  for  a  rest.  Mr.  Fisher  for  two 
weeks  seemed  to  be  getting  along  finely,  and  his  phy- 
sician, Dr.  U.  G.  Daily,  allowed  him  to  come  home. 
He  remained  indoors  for  two  or  three  days,  improving 
splendidly. 

The  news  of  the  illness  of  Doctor  Fisher  spread  like 
a  mighty  conflagration  to  every  corner  of  his  acquain- 

tanceshiP'  April  26,  1915. 

On  receiving  the  sad  intelligence  of  your  illness,  the  Baptist 
Ministerial  Alliance  of  the  City  of  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  by 
unanimous  vote  in  assembly,  authorized  the  secretary  to  write 
you  and  family  this  letter  in  which  it  does  hereby  express  the 
heartfelt  sympathy  of  the  entire  brotherhood  of  the  City  of  In- 
dianapolis and  the  State  of  Indiana  at  large.  .  . 

We  are  praying,  and  have  prayed,  if  it  is  the  will  of  God, 

that  you  may  immediately  recover  and  once  more  be  able  to 

reoccupy  your  pulpit. 

Rev.  G.  L.  LILLIARD,  D.  D.,  Pres. 

Rev.  F.  L.  Morris,  A.  B.,  Sec. 


162 THE  MASTER'S  SLAVE 

Des  Moines,  Iowa,  April  25,  1915. 
Dear  Brother: 

I  am  sorry  to  hear  that  you  are  sick,  and  I  hope  that  you  are 
so  much  better  now  as  to  be  well  on  the  road  to  recovery. 

I  suppose  this  accounts  for  my  not  hearing  anything  further 
from  you  regarding  the  program  for  the  Western  Convention. 
With  best  wishes, 

Sincerely  yours, 

T.  L.  Griffith. 

Oklahoma  City,  May  17,  1915. 

My  dear  Friend  and  Brother: 

Some  weeks  ago  I  was  advised  that  you  were  ill  but  that 
you  would  be  up  and  out  shortly.  I  take  it  that  you  are  now 
again  at  home  and  sufficiently  convalescent  to  receive  mail  from 
your  friends  and  those  who  always  wish  you  well. 

H.  Harrison. 

Despite  the  seeming  improvement  of  Doctor  Fisher, 
it  was  not  quite  clear  to  the  household  that  he  could  get 
the  desired  rest  in  Chicago.  It  seemed  that  a  trip  to 
Indiana  would  put  him  in  good  order.  Accordingly 
he  went  to  Gary  to  spend  a  while  at  the  home  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Hawkins,  for  whom  he  had  lifted  the  first  spade 
of  dirt  for  a  church  building.  After  two  weeks  he 
came  home  showing  only  a  few  signs  of  any  sickness. 
Many  were  the  duties  that  should  have  come  to  his 
attention  during  the  interim. 

The  Lincoln  Jubilee,  celebrating  the  Half-century 
Anniversary  of  Negro  Freedom,  was  soon  to  take 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 163 

place  at  Chicago,  and  he  was  one  of  the  five  men  ap- 
pointed on  the  Commission  by  the  Mayor  of  Chicago 
to  represent  the  city.  The  president  of  the  celebration, 
Bishop  Fallows,  wrote  him  on  May  7 : 

Dear  Doctor  Fisher: 

I  am  glad  to  know  that  you  are  gaining  rapidly  every  day. 
I  am  free  to  say  that  I  have  been  sounding  your  praise  at  home 
and  abroad  as  one  of  the  most  useful  preachers  and  leaders  of 
your  race. 

When  I  think  of  the  past  and  the  struggles  of  your  early  life 
amid  the  conditions  in  which  you  were  placed,  and  the  present 
exalted  position  you  occupy  today,  I  think  we  all  ought  to  say, 
"  What  hath  God  wrought." 

As  the  secretary  has  informed  you,  the  final  preparation  for 
the  convention  cannot  be  done  until  we  can  have  your  physical 
cooperation.  You  know  the  tremendous  importance  of  this 
work.  We  are  therefore  hoping  that  your  recovery  will  be 
speedy  and  complete,  and  that  the  work  will  go  forward  to  a 
complete  success. 

With  best  wishes,  believe  me, 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Samuel  Fallows,  President. 

In  like  manner  the  controversy  of  the  National  Bap- 
tist Publishing  House  and  the  property  holdings  de- 
pended very  largely  upon  his  maneuvers.  The  Hon. 
William  Harrison,  attorney  for  the  Convention,  writes, 
May  1  7,  from  Oklahoma  City : 

Everything  has  stopped  and  awaits  your  return  to  the  wheel 
and  your  wise  guidance  and  your  almost  unerring  counsel.    My 


164 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

entire  family  is  solicitous  about  you  and  yours,  and  all  fer- 
vently pray  for  your  entire  recovery  and  your  invaluable  ser- 
vice for  many  revolving  years  yet. 

Indiana  seemed  just  the  place  for  recuperation.  He 
liked  the  region  so  well  that  he  went  back  again. 
Seemingly  he  was  recovering  from  the  mental  strain  of 
work.  Telephone  calls  and  letters  brought  messages 
of  a  cheering  vein.  Unfortunately  the  message  was 
wired  to  Gary  that  Deacon  Peter  Wimby  had  passed 
away  and  that  the  funeral  had  taken  place.  Brother 
Wimby  had  been  Doctor  Fisher's  companion  ever 
since  he  came  to  Chicago.  Deacon  Wimby  was  a 
strong  character,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Bethlehem 
Association,  a  pillar  in  Olivet  for  years  and  its  trea- 
surer.   The  reaction  caused  Mr.  Fisher  a  backset. 

Doctor  Fisher  stayed  a  week  longer  in  Gary,  and 
after  a  few  days  or  so  his  wife  received  a  note  bearing 
the  statement  that  he  was  feeling  fairly  well  and  that 
he  would  be  home  shortly.  How  well  he  was  could 
not  be  discerned  from  the  letter ;  and  almost  before  the 
note  was  in  the  hands  of  his  wife  he  came  home.  His 
physique  was  as  strong-looking  as  usual,  but  his  coun- 
tenance bore  the  expression  of  wrinkled  care.  Mr. 
Fisher's  condition  was  disclosed  only  to  the  intimates 
of  the  family  and  to  the  officials  of  the  church.  The 
letters  from  the  family  to  those  solicitous  for  the  wel- 
fare of  Doctor  Fisher  were  always  full  of  hope,  giving 
encouragement  to  others  which  was  not  always  fully 
shared  by  them. 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 165 

Students  whom  he  had  helped  in  one  way  or  another 
were  very  loyal  and  proved  friends.  Mr.  Shishuba,  a 
native  African,  whom  the  church  was  helping  through 
Roger  Williams  University,  Nashville,  Tennessee, 
writes :  "  I  have  learned  from  my  President,  Doctor 
Townsend,  that  he  found  you  in  bed  sick  while  he  was 
in  your  city.    I  am  praying  for  you  to  get  well." 

Probably  there  was  none  more  deserving  of  help  or 
who  had  a  greater  future  for  usefulness  than  the  Rev. 
Mordecai  Johnson,  then  a  student  in  the  Rochester 
Theological  Seminary.  He  had  free  access  to  the  li- 
brary of  Doctor  Fisher  and  to  the  rostrum  of  the 
church.  Time  and  again  was  he  the  speaker  at  the 
Sunday  services,  and  often  spent  his  summer  vacations 
in  charge  of  the  Olivet  congregation. 

Mumford,  N.  Y.,  May  21,  1915. 
Dear  Doctor  Fisher: 

I  have  learned  that  you  are  ill  but  trust  that  now  you  are 
on  the  road  to  recovery.  I  pray  that  you  may  soon  be  well  and 
at  your  work  again.  .  . 

I  still  remember  with  gratitude  your  very  kind  interest  in 
me.  I  trust  that  your  interest  continues,  and  that  I  shall  be 
able  to  prove  myself  worthy  of  it. 

My  kindest  regards  to  Mrs.  Fisher  and  to  your  sons  and 
daughters,  all  of  whom  I  hope  are  well. 

Again  let  me  express  the  hope  that  God  may  help  you  to 
health  and  renewed  usefulness. 

Your  younger  brother  in  Christ, 

Mordecai  W.  Johnson. 


166 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

For  two  or  three  days  Pastor  Fisher  was  able  to 
walk  around  in  the  house  and  read,  but  he  was  not 
able  to  touch  any  of  the  duties  of  his  pastorate.  He 
did  not  realize  his  condition,  but  the  presence  of  so 
many  doctors  and  the  many  visitors  that  thronged  to 
see  him  indicated  that  his  sickness  was  not  of  the  ordi- 
nary kind. 

He  was  able  to  be  up  so  long  as  he  could  manipu- 
late his  crutches.  But  about  the  middle  of  May  his 
strength  left  him,  and  he  did  not  sit  up  as  was  his 
custom.  Helpless,  weak,  unable  to  talk  plainly,  he 
remained  in  his  room  from  the  middle  of  May  on.  His 
condition  was  growing  worse  each  day.  The  family 
at  home  was  very  anxious  and  wrote  to  the  youngest 
boy  (the  author  of  this  volume),  then  in  Morehouse 
College :  "  We  wrote  you  that  your  papa  had  a  ner- 
vous breakdown  and  at  first  did  not  know  how  serious, 
but  he  is  getting  worse  all  the  time;  we  want  you  to 
come  and  see  him  before  it  is  too  late." 

The  lad  easily  imagined  the  peril  of  his  father  by 
the  letter.  Immediately  leaving  college  he  reached 
Chicago  in  time  to  receive  an  unforgetable  benediction. 
In  a  voice  hardly  distinguishable  and  with  words 
barely  understandable,  with  hand  in  hand  and  hearts 
of  both  throbbing  rapidly,  this  question  was  under- 
stood : 

"  Son,  how  did  you  do  in  college?  " 

"  I  did  my  best.  I  led  my  class  and  school  and  re- 
ceived the  first  scholarship  for  next  year." 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 167 

The  look  of  favor  was  benign.  A  Sabbath  stillness 
reigned.  After  a  few  minutes  he  uttered  as  best  as  he 
could  his  benediction. 

With  tears  in  his  eyes  he  said,  "  God  bless  you,  I 
knew  you  would  do  it."  But  he  had  not  finished;  he 
was  trying  to  utter  more.  Words  could  be  distin- 
guished to  say :  "  You  asked  me  before  you  left  what 
I  wanted  you  to  be.  May  God  help  you  to  be  a  man. 
If  you  fail  me  I  am  lost." 

The  tired  traveler  turned  over  to  rest.  He  tried 
to  hide  from  sight  his  realization  of  the  fact  that  he 
was  fast  approaching  heaven,  his  harbor  of  rest.  The 
family  was  borne  down  because  of  the  critical  condi- 
tion of  the  head  of  the  house.  Added  to  this  Mrs. 
Fisher  received  the  sad  intelligence  from  her  sister  in 
La  Grange,  Georgia,  that  her  mother  had  passed. 
About  a  week  later  Miles  got  his  leg  broken  in  an 
athletic  contest.  The  burden  on  the  heart  of  Mrs. 
Fisher  was  lightened  by  the  kind  assistance  of  friends 
who  showed  in  a  large  way  their  love  for  the  family. 

There  is  a  comfort  in  the  strength  of  love; 
'Twill  make  a  thing  endurable,  which  else 
Would  overset  the  brain  or  break  the  heart. 

It  was  a  fact  that  even  if  the  recovery  of  Doctor 
Fisher  was  a  certainty,  some  time  would  be  needed  for 
rest.  Thereupon  the  Olivet  Church  and  the  family 
requested  all  correspondence  for  the  forthcoming  Na- 
tional Baptist  Convention  be  directed  to  the  Rev.  I. 


168  THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

A.  Thomas,  of  Evanston,  Illinois.  Dr.  E.  C.  Morris, 
President  of  the  Convention,  endorsed  this  suggestion 
in  a  letter  to  the  family  and  enclosed  the  following 
note: 

Helena,  Ark.,  June  5,  1915. 
My  dear  Doctor  Fisher: 

This  leaves  me  well  and  I  hope  you  are  much  improved. 
All  matters  are  moving  smoothly  now,  and  we  are  planning 
for  a  great  time  in  your  city  in  September. 

You  know  that  I  am  always  glad  to  hear  from  you  and 
when  you  are  better  you  may  write. 

Very  truly,  your  friend, 

E.  C.  Morris. 

The  cheerful  tone  of  the  following  four  extracts 
gave  greater  encouragement  to  the  family  than  was 
warranted  by  the  facts.  President  John  Hope,  of 
Morehouse  College,  wished  to  be  remembered  kindly 
to  Doctor  Fisher.  Writing  to  his  wife,  he  says,  "  I  am 
sure  if  he  were  well,  he  would  be  in  Georgia  this  week 
with  the  great  Baptist  host  which  I  hope  will  have  a 
harmonious  union." 

Augusta,  Georgia,  June  22,  1915. 
My  dear  Doctor: 

Having  heard  of  your  illness  I  am  writing  to  express  my 
sincere  wish  and  prayer  for  your  complete  and  speedy  recovery 
to  health.  Our  entire  convention  (General  Missionary  and 
Educational  Convention  of  Georgia)  at  Macon,  Ga.,  a  few 
days   ago,   passed   resolutions   of  sympathy   and  had   special 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER Jj69 

prayer  for  your  recovery.  I  trust  you  are  being  sustained  by 
the  promises  of  Christ,  and  by  the  comforting  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  your  affliction. 

Remember  me  most  cordially  to  the  members  of  the  family. 
With  best  wishes,  I  am 

Sincerely, 

C.  T.  Walker. 

His  sister,  Sarah,  says :  "  The  people  are  so  anxious 
about  him,  both  white  and  colored.  I  was  there  Satur- 
day to  Doctor  Ridley's  (the  younger).  They  desire 
to  see  him." 

Dr.  S.  J.  Williams,  associated  with  him  for  many 
years  in  State  work  and  then  pastor  of  the  First 
Church,  Cairo,  Illinois,  wrote: 

I  pray  for  you  and  your  great  work,  and  trust  that  the  Lord 
will  restore  you  to  health.  I  have  asked  my  church  and  peo- 
ple to  pray  for  you  and  Olivet,  for  we  need  you  and  your 
good  people  to  help  us  carry  on  the  work  of  the  Master's 
kingdom. 

The  truth  of  the  condition  of  Doctor  Fisher  was 
that  he  rested  quietly  from  day  to  day,  but  his  wrinkled 
forehead  and  nervous  tension  showed  that  he  was  in 
pain  and  agony.  The  breath  of  July,  like  hot  furnace 
air,  added  to  his  discomfort.  Specialists  were  called 
in,  a  trained  nurse  was  ministering  to  him  night  and 
day,  prescriptions  were  filled  plenteously,  but  to  no 
avail.  However,  this  did  not  trouble  him,  for  when  his 
voice  was  clear  as  a  clarion,  and  when  his  muscles  re- 


170 THE  MASTER'S  SLAVE 

sponded  like  bands  of  steel,  with  lungs  of  brass  and 
bowels  of  copper  he  had  proclaimed  that 

those  who  have  laid  hold  of  the  hope  that  is  set  before  us 
in  the  gospel  have  entered  "  the  glory  of  the  immortal  life," 
where 

"  O'er  all  those  wide  extended  plains 
Shines  one  eternal  day." 

The  Spirit  in  the  Word  has  cheered  us  during  our  weary  pil- 
grimage with  the  promise,  "  Thine  eyes  shall  .  .  .  behold  the 
land  that  is  very  far  off."  At  the  grave  we  can  stand  beside 
the  dust  of  our  departed  friends  and  think  that 

"  Dust  thou  art,  to  dust  returnest, 
Was  not  spoken  of  the  soul." 

Nay,  but  the  rather,  "  This  corruptible  shall  put  on  incorrup- 
tion,  and  this  mortal  shall  put  on  immortality." 

This  thought  had  been  a  potent  factor  in  all  the 
efforts  of  Doctor  Fisher  even  before  its  proclamation 
by  him;  and  though  the  doctor,  nurse,  and  prescrip- 
tions could  do  him  no  good,  fifty-one  years  before  his 
case  had  been  diagnosed  by  the  Good  Physician,  the 
remedy  had  been  prepared  in  the  pharmacy  of  heaven 
by  that  same  hand  that  had  created  earth  and  every 
living  thing,  and  the  "  balm  of  Gilead  "  had  been  ap- 
plied to  his  heart  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

He  continued  through  the  days  of  July  in  a  state  of 
consciousness.  The  monotony  of  the  days  was  broken 
by  the  songs,  "  Jesus  is  All  the  World  to  Me  "  and 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER \T\_ 

"  I  Am  Happy  in  Him,"  by  his  daughters.  No  one 
was  allowed  to  see  him. 

The  curtain  of  death  which  was  occasionally  lifted 
during  the  two  months  and  a  half  of  confinement  was 
drawing  closer  and  closer.  As  he  sank  into  delirium 
that  last  day  of  July,  with  a  smile  of  "  Well  done,"  he 
seemed  transported  with  the  most  ardent  impatience  to 
join  the  society  of  saints  redeemed  through  his  own  in- 
strumentality. The  dark  shadow  which  for  hours  had 
been  hanging  came  nearer;  the  sun  was  slanting  her 
golden  rays  to  the  West  as  a  symbol  of  ended  day. 
That  dear  life  was  hanging  low,  and  at  three  hours 
and  a  quarter  past  the  noon  life  ended  here  but  began 
there. 

The  funeral  services,  simple  but  impressive,  were  the 
fitting  sequel  of  the  life  lived.  Flowers  gathered  from 
many  climes,  telegrams  and  letters  of  sympathy  from 
rich  and  poor,  lay  and  clergy,  white  and  black,  were 
only  the  sad  and  pronounced  echoes  of  an  earthly  loss 
and  heavenly  gain.  The  words  of  the  apostle  Paul, 
"  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course, 
I  have  kept  the  faith,"  were  used  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  C. 
T.  Walker  as  a  fitting  tribute  to  this  soldier  of  the 
Cross.  The  multitude  that  had  waited  all  night  at 
the  church,  the  prayers  and  hymns  that  wailed  plain- 
tively even  to  heaven,  the  tributes  paid  by  men  promi- 
nent in  every  walk  of  life,  seemed  to  chant  a  refrain, 
'  Yes,  soldier,  you  have  fought  a  good  fight  and  kept 
the  faith."  The  funeral  procession  left  lonely  the 
N 


172 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

hearts  of  the  people.  A  short  committal  by  "  Father  " 
Duncan,  a  brief  prayer  to  the  Maker  of  men,  forever 
ended  the  earth-voyage  of  the  weary  mariner.  His 
soul  had  entered  heaven's  port — "  Safe  home  at  last." 
The  log-book  of  his  life  will  be  fully  read  when  the 
books  are  opened  before  the  Great  White  Throne. 


FINIS 


APPENDIX 

OLIVET  BAPTIST  CHURCH 

1915-1922 


OLIVET  BAPTIST  CHURCH 
1915-1922 

Elijah  John  Fisher's  work  was  done  but,  like  John 
Brown,  "  his  soul  goes  marching  on."  One  of  the 
finest  tributes  that  can  be  paid  to  his  labors,  is  that  for 
nearly  a  year  after  his  decease  the  work  of  Olivet  con- 
tinued in  harmony,  as  peaceful  and  efficient  as  during 
his  own  lifetime.  Even  with  empires,  the  death  of  a 
monarch  is  sometimes  the  occasion  for  disruption,  but 
not  so  with  the  Olivet  Church.  It  strengthened  its 
position,  adding  over  four  hundred  members  during  the 
year. 

Undoubtedly  one  factor  which  tended  to  preserve 
the  unity  of  the  church  was  the  faithful,  untiring,  ener- 
getic work  done  by  the  late  minister's  daughter,  Miss 
S.  Mattie  Fisher,  now  one  of  the  church  missionaries 
under  appointment  of  the  Woman's  American  Baptist 
Home  Mission  Society.  If  it  is  not  too  anticipatory,  it 
is  timely  to  remark  that  the  present  pastor  has  shown  a 
kindly  interest  in  Doctor  Fisher's  family  in  many  ways. 
For  example,  he  was  largely  instrumental  in  having  a 
monument  to  the  memory  of  the  late  Doctor  Fisher 
placed  in  Mount  Forest  Cemetery,  and  favors  the 
present  monthly  allowance  of  the  church  to  the  late 
minister's  widow. 

175 


_176 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

If  a  division  in  the  church  was  possible,  the  psycho- 
logical background  was  there  in  the  schism  which 
resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  National  Baptist  Con- 
vention (incorporated),  led  by  Dr.  E.  C.  Morris,  and 
the  National  Baptist  Convention  (unincorporated), 
led  by  Dr.  R.  H.  Boyd,  in  the  annual  meeting  in 
Chicago  in  September,  1915.  Olivet  had  invited  the 
Convention  to  be  her  guest  and  made  a  great  effort  to 
entertain  it,  but  since  the  only  man  in  the  denomination 
that  could  have  averted  a  schism  had  passed,  a  division 
was  inevitable. 

This  event  did  not,  however,  stop  the  work  of  the 
church  so  successfully  managed  by  Chairman  Griffin 
and  his  Official  Board  and  "  Father  "  Duncan,  the 
devout  assistant  pastor,  long  past  "  three-score  years 
and  ten."  It  rather  stimulated  the  church  to  outlive 
the  event  that  was  unfortunate  for  the  denomination, 
and  that  put  the  Baptists  of  Chicago  in  an  embarrass- 
ing position. 

The  church  then  liquidated  every  sign  of  debt  and 
called  the  Rev.  Lacey  Kirk  Williams,  D.  D.,  of 
Fort  Worth,  Texas,  to  lead  her.  The  church  at  that 
time  had  over  four  thousand  members,  owning  a  meet- 
ing-house valued  at  $85,000,  and  operating  three  mis- 
sion stations  in  needy  parts  of  the  city.  Besides  this, 
the  church  had  eight  paid  workers,  twenty-six  depart- 
ments, and  two  hundred  and  sixty  officers.  The  con- 
gregation believed,  and  rightly  too,  that  Doctor  Wil- 
liams could  keep  the  Olivet  machine  oiled  and  that  he 


LACEY  KIRK  WILLIAMS,  D.  D. 
Pastor,  Olivet  Baptist  Church,  Chicago 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 177 

had  inventive  genius  to  add  more  parts  to  the  machine 
that  Jesse  F.  Boulden,  Richard  De  Baptiste,  Henry 
Harrison  White,  John  Francis  Thomas,  and  Elijah 
John  Fisher  had  tried  in  various  ways  to  bring  to 
perfection. 

Rev.  Mr.  Williams  was  the  first  college-  and  semi- 
nary-trained man  Olivet  ever  had ;  he  was  a  graduate 
of  Arkansas  Baptist  College  with  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Arts,  and  of  the  theological  course  of 
Bishop  College,  and  was  honored  by  Selma  University 
with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  For  over 
twenty  years  he  had  been  the  successful  pastor  of  many 
churches  in  the  larger  cities  of  Texas ;  he  had  built  five 
houses  of  worship,  the  last  of  which,  the  Mount 
Gilead,  of  Fort  Worth,  cost  $90,000.  Doctor  Wil- 
liams also  served  as  president  of  the  Baptist  Missionary 
and  Educational  Convention  of  Texas  for  twelve 
years.  This  organization  had  espoused  the  cause  of 
The  American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  in  a 
way  similar  to  that  of  the  General  Missionary  and  Edu- 
cational Convention  of  Georgia  mentioned  in  Chapter 
III,  and  it  was  expected  that  the  pastor-elect  would 
sustain  relations  between  the  Olivet  Church  and  the 
white  Baptists  of  Chicago.  Lacey  Kirk  Williams,  the 
seventh  pastor  1  of  the  Olivet  Baptist  Church,  was  in- 

1  Jesse  F.  Boulden  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  Olivet  Baptist  Church, 
but  it  is  known  that  the  organization  had  form  before  his  time.  A  Negro 
Baptist  church  existed  in  Chicago  some  time  before  October,  1848,  but 
it  was  not  until  April,  1853,  that  the  Rev.  Robert  J.  Robinson  came  from 
Alton,  Illinois,  and  organized  the  Zoar  Baptist  Church,  of  eleven  mem- 


US THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

deed  the  man  who  many  hoped  would  also  unite  the 
Negro  Baptists  of  Chicago. 

In  addition  to  the  sad  intelligence  that  the  Baptist 
constituency  of  Chicago  was  estranged,  one  of  the  first 
things  that  came  to  the  attention  of  Pastor  Williams 
was  the  fact  that  Negroes  were  migrating  to  Chicago 
so  fast  that  the  city  threatened  in  a  short  time  to  rival 
the  Negro  centers  of  the  South.  The  emigration  of 
the  foreign  element  and  the  almost  stoppage  of  immi- 
gration impaired  the  war  industries  of  the  North.  The 
industries  sent  a  call  to  the  South  for  labor,  and 
Negroes  seeking  adventure  and  economic,  educational, 
social,  and  political  advantages  responded. 

When  Olivet  saw  that  Negroes  were  coming  North, 
and  coming  to  stay,  and  that  many  of  the  poorer  emi- 
grants had  no  idea  what  city  life  was  like  or  who 
would  receive  them  or  where  they  would  stay,  she  was 

bers.  The  Rev.  H.  H.  Hawkins,  of  Chatham,  Canada,  West,  the  first 
permanent  pastor,  served  the  church  from  1855-  to  1858.  The  church 
was  next  pastored  for  seven  months  by  the  Rev.  David  G.  Lett.  In 
March,  1860,  about  forty  members  withdrew  and  formed  the  Mount 
Zion  Baptist  Church;  Rev.  Mr.  Boulden,  pastor.  The  Zoar  Church, 
after  the  secession,  probably  had  for  her  pastor  Rev.  Mr.  Tansbury,  who 
after  remaining  a  short  time  went  back  to  Canada.  After  this,  through 
the  influence  of  the  Rev.  Jesse  F.  Boulden,  the  two  bodies  were  re- 
united into  the  Olivet  Baptist  Church,  December  22,  1861.  The  pastors 
of  the  Olivet  Baptist  Church  have  been:  Jesse  F.  Boulden  (1861-1863); 
Richard  De  Baptiste.  D.  D.  (1863-1882);  James  Alfred  Dunn  Podd 
(1882-1883);  Henry  Harrison  White  (1883-1886);  John  Francis 
Thomas,  D.  D.  (1887-1902)  ;  Elijah  John  Fisher.  D.  D.,  LL.  D.  (1903- 
1915),  and  Lacey  Kirk  Williams,  A.  B.,  D.  D.  (1916-).  For  a  detailed 
account  see  the  author's  "  The  History  of  the  Olivet  Baptist  Church  of 
Chicago"  (A.  M.  thesis,  The  University  of  Chicago). 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 179 

especially  active  in  securing  homes  and  employment 
through  her  information  and  employment  bureau  about 
which  many  migrants  had  heard  through  an  advertise- 
ment carried  in  the  columns  of  one  of  the  Negro  week- 
lies. Hundreds  of  prospective  migrants  sent  letters  to 
"  Oliver,"  "  Ovlivet,"  or  Olivet  for  information. 
Some  wrote  for  passes;  others  simply  said,  "  Meet  me 
at  the  station."  One  wanted  "  a  suitcase  to  put  his 
things  in."  The  following  letter  from  Hawkinsville, 
Georgia,  tells  another  pathetic  story : 

March  the  26— 1917. 

My  Dear  frends  i  have  seem  yur  in  Striction  of  members  of 
the  race  coming  from  the  South  We  will  pree  shade  yu  offer 
in  coming  north  We  all  are  not  able  to  come  But  our  dezire 
is  to  come  Heep  of  us  ant  got  the  money  to  come  with  Some 
of  the  peope  of  the  race  are  unable  to  go  they  Kneed  help  to 
come  We  wants  to  come  We  think  yu  peope  for  help  We 
are  Poor  class  of  Peope  and  wants  help  to  come  with  and 
think  yu  all  Please  to  help  we  poor  class  of  the  race  if  we  can 
get  off  as  Soon  as  we  can  get  off  for  times  is  getting  Bad  hear 
we  wants  to  leve  hear  Befor  we  cant  leve  So  give  my  love 
to  all  howdy  and  good  Bye  Just  a  frend  rite  soon  as  possible 
to 


Scores  of  these  immigrants  united  with  the  Olivet 
Church  each  Sunday.  Other  churches  were  strength- 
ened too;  the  membership  of  five  churches  was  in- 
creased to  nearly  five  thousand,  but  the  phenomenal 
increase  of  Olivet  was  the  direct  result  of  her  wide 


]80 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

popularity  and  the  preparation  of  her  pastor  and 
members  for  the  incoming  thousands. 

The  increase  of  the  Olivet  membership  was  so  large 
that  the  main  auditorium  seating  about  eighteen  hun- 
dred, the  lecture-room  holding  about  eight  hundred 
more,  and  the  Dearborn  Street  Annex  which  had  been 
used  for  a  kitchen  and  dining-room,  were  all  used  for 
worship,  and  yet  there  were  hundreds  turned  away. 
Another  building  opposite  the  church  on  Twenty- 
seventh  Street  was  secured  to  be  used  as  a  kitchen  and 
dining-room,  and  the  two  upper  stories  fitted  up  for  a 
Working  Men's  Home. 

It  was  evident  that  Olivet  needed  more  room. 
When  the  First  Baptist  Church  desired  to  sell  her 
meeting-house,  Olivet  was  asked  to  buy  the  property. 
True  enough  the  building  would  provide  accomodation 
for  about  three  thousand  persons,2  but  Pastor  Williams 
was  not  anxious  to  take  over  the  property.  The  church 
even  voted  not  to  buy  it.  It  was  the  ambition  of  Doc- 
tor Williams  to  build  a  tabernacle  in  Chicago,  and  as 
a  result  he  proposed  to  the  Baptist  Executive  Council 
of  Chicago  that  if  some  of  the  smaller  congregations 
would  unite  and  take  over  the  property,  Olivet  would 
contribute  $3,000  to  the  same.  The  reply  was  that 
no  arrangements  could  be  agreed  upon  with  any  Negro 
Baptist  organization  except  Olivet.     Whereupon  the 

2  The  First  Church  edifice  was  designed  by  architects  Wilcox  and 
Miller  to  seat  in  the  main  auditorium,  1,500;  in  the  Sunday  school  room, 
900;  and  in  the  lecture- room,  530. — "The  Standard,"  October  29,  1874. 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 1SJ_ 

church  voted  to  buy  the  property  for  $85,000,  the 
price  offered  by  a  Methodist  organization.  The  Bap- 
tist Executive  Council  gave  the  church  $15,000  of  the 
amount.  This  act  of  Olivet  and  her  pastor  put  the 
Baptists  far  in  the  lead  of  any  other  denomination  in 
Chicago,  set  a  widely  copied  precedent  for  the  buying 
of  church  property,  reopened  relations  between  the 
v/hite  and  colored  Baptists  of  Chicago,  and  virtually 
vindicated  the  position  of  the  late  pastor  in  respect  to 
the  "  Union  "  mentioned  in  the  previous  chapter. 

The  Second  Sunday  in  September,  1918,  was  the 
day  the  First  Church  was  turned  over  to  the  Olivet 
congregation.  It  was  an  unforgetable  day  when  the 
membership  met  in  the  old  church  home,  formed  a  line 
of  march  that  paraded  out  State  Street  to  Thirty- 
first  Street,  and  thence  east  to  South  Park  Avenue, 
singing  as  they  went,  "  Onward,  Christian  Soldiers." 

The  gray  stone  building,  with  its  gothic  towers,  one 
rising  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet,  its  sides  divided  with 
buttresses  and  large  stained-  and  cut-glass  windows, 
made  the  most  pretentious  Baptist  meeting-house  then 
in  the  city.  Its  gallery  amphitheater  and  semicircular 
black  walnut  pews,  with  incised  holly  panels  and  tops 
and  arms  veneered  with  root  ash,  were  just  part  of  the 
interior  arrangements  which  made  the  total  initial  cost 
of  the  building  $111,000.  Now  the  keys  of  that 
grand,  historic  building  were  turned  over  to  Olivet. 
But  Olivet  had  been  in  the  minds  of  the  people  that 
worshiped  there  ever  since  the  building  of  the  edifice. 


^82 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

At  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone,  Saturday  afternoon, 
June  5,  1 875,  the  pastor  of  Olivet,  the  Rev.  Richard 
De  Baptiste,  made  a  short  address  along  with  other 
city  ministers.  Furthermore,  Dr.  W.  W.  Everts, 
pastor  of  the  First  Church,  spoke  wiser  than  he  knew 
at  the  dedication  in  April,  1876,  when  he  preached 
from  Genesis  35:3:  "  And  let  us  arise,  and  go  up  to 
Bethel ;  and  I  will  make  there  an  altar  unto  God,  who 
answered  me  in  the  day  of  my  distress,  and  was  with 
me  in  the  way  which  I  went."  Nor  did  the  evening 
message  of  the  Rev.  J.  N.  Murdock,  D.  D.,  of  Bos- 
ton, fall  short  of  the  program  of  world  vision  of  the 
First  Church  or  of  Olivet  when  he  used  Psalm  67  :  1 , 
2  as  a  text,  saying :  "  God  be  merciful  unto  us,  and 
bless  us;  and  cause  his  face  to  shine  upon  us;  Selah. 
That  thy  way  may  be  known  upon  earth,  thy  saving 
health  among  all  nations." 

Olivet,  from  the  first,  accepted  the  earthly  challenge 
of  the  modern  message.  In  order  to  know  the  needs 
of  the  field,  a  religious  survery,  extending  over  several 
months,  was  begun.  The  worker  would  enter  each 
home  with  the  statement : 

We  are  making  a  survey  of  the  district  in  order  to  find  our 
people,  because  we  wish  to  establish  for  them  a  community 
center  in  the  church  at  Thirty-first  Street  and  South  Park 
Avenue.  In  the  interest  of  the  work  we  are  making  a  house- 
to-house  visit  to  all  the  people  of  the  community,  asking  the 
names  of  the  adults  in  the  house,  their  Christian  connection, 
their  occupation,  how  long  they  have  been  in  the  city,  and  the 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 183 

number,  ages,  and  sex  of  their  children.  In  this  center  we  have 
a  kindergarten,  information,  and  free  employment  bureau,  clubs 
for  boys  and  girls,  meetings  for  mothers  and  fathers,  and  many 
other  helpful  organizations.     Will  you  give  us  this  information  ? 

In  this  way  over  five  thousand  homes  were  reached, 
and  direct  contact  between  the  church  and  community 
was  made  vital.  From  such  a  survey  it  is  easy  to  see 
how  in  four  years  62,000  visits  were  made  to  sick  and 
needy  persons,  and  986  of  them  aided. 

In  patriotic  effort  Olivet  was  no  less  responsive.  She 
paid  $5,000  cash  for  Liberty  Bonds  of  the  second  se- 
ries. More  than  one  thousand  of  her  members  sub- 
scribed for  Liberty  Bonds  of  the  third  series.  More- 
over, Pastor  Williams  was  given  an  indefinite  leave  of 
absence  for  religious  work  in  Camp  Grant.  The 
church  was  open  at  all  times  as  a  war  center,  encourag- 
ing patriotic  addresses  and  exercises,  entertaining  sol- 
diers, and  housing  the  Red  Cross  Committee.  Olivet 
donated  thousands  of  pieces  of  religious  literature  to 
soldiers  at  Camps  Grant  and  Dodge,  and  a  communion 
set  to  the  latter  training-station. 

As  the  Olivet  Church  contributed  her  share  in  mak- 
ing the  war  successful,  so  the  war  inspired  her  to  do  big 
tasks.  For  example,  in  the  course  of  four  years,  the 
total  collected  and  spent  for  community  service,  church 
improvement,  education,  evangelism,  and  missions 
amounted  to  $  1 4 1 ,322.36.  The  greatest  financial  feat 
accomplished  by  any  known  congregation  of  color  was 
staged   on   August   29,    1920,   at  which   time   over 


184 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

$1 8,000  in  cash  was  laid  on  the  table,  making  a  finan- 
cial effort  of  only  a  few  weeks  total  more  than 
$29,000.  This  was  accomplished  through  the  wise 
judgment  of  Pastor  Williams,  who  took  advantage  of 
the  high  labor  returns,  knowing  that  Negroes  contri- 
bute seventy-five  per  cent,  more  of  their  wealth  for 
church  purposes  than  does  any  other  race. 

During  the  Chicago  riot  the  Olivet  Baptist  Church 
was  the  headquarters  of  the  Peace  and  Protective  As- 
sociation, an  organization  composed  of  the  leading 
Negro  citizenry,  which  met  daily  for  thirty  or  forty 
days,  counseling  sanity  and  peace  and  giving  defense 
and  aid  to  needy  and  innocent  riot  victims.  Thus  it 
is  evident  that  Mr.  Williams  did  not  only  talk  of  the 
golden  streets  of  the  by  and  by,  but  of  the  dirty, 
crooked  highways  and  byways  of  now  and  here. 

The  divine  worship  of  the  church  is  not  neglected; 
every  Lord's  Day  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning 
preaching  services  are  held  in  the  main  auditorium,  the 
Sunday  school  room,  and  the  lecture-room  of  the 
church.  Rev.  Mr.  Williams  is  himself  a  thoughtful, 
forceful,  orthodox,  interesting,  and  emotional  preacher. 
In  one  sermon  he  satisfies  the  intellectual  elite,  he  con- 
vinces the  skeptic,  and  he  electrifies  the  washerwoman. 
An  extract  of  his  sermon  on  the  "  Quest  of  God  " 
(Gen.  32  :  29)  will  serve  to  illustrate  his  style: 

Philosophers  have  given  much  thought  to  the  study  of  God, 
and  after  their  searches  and  researches  many  gave  him  the 
name  of  First  Cause,  the  Great  Unknown. 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 185 

Homer  called  him  Zeus,  having  his  permanent  abode  in 
Mount  Olympus,  which  trembled  when  he  stamped  his  feet  or 
nodded  his  head.  The  Romans  called  him  Jupiter,  Venus, 
and  Mercury,  and  ascribed  to  these  gods  the  powers  and  some 
of  the  attributes  that  we  ascribe  to  our  God.  The  Northmen 
called  him  Odin  and  Thor;  the  Egyptians,  Isis  and  Osiris,  or 
Typhon ;  while  other  nations  gave  him  other  names.  Abraham, 
David,  and  Moses,  when  they  first  saw  him  called  him  a  man, 
for  they  saw  him  walking  and  talking,  or  striving  with  them  as 
man  would  with  man.  When  he  commanded  Moses  to  go 
and  tell  Pharaoh  to  let  his  people  go,  Moses  inquired  what 
was  his  name,  for  he  knew  that  would  be  the  first  question 
Pharaoh  and  the  children  of  Israel  would  ask.  And  to  Moses 
he  said,  Tell  them  my  name  is,  "  I  AM."  A  personal,  self- 
existing  Being!  .  . 

Tell  me  thy  name,  thou  that  fillest  all  space,  inhabitest  the 
sea,  dwellest  in  the  loneliness  of  the  mountains,  soarest  up  to 
heaven,  and  keepest  vigil  in  hell.  .  .  Thou  that  knowest  all, 
and  hast  the  wisdom  of  the  deep,  of  the  blinking  stars,  and 
blinding  suns,  of  rocks  and  rivers,  landscapes  and  grottoes,  I 
want  to  know  thy  name.  Thou  that  has  power  so  that  none 
can  hinder  thee,  so  that  none  can  prevail  against  thee,  so  that 
thou  askest  none  for  bread,  or  what  course  thou  wilt  pursue; 
thou  that  findest  the  cause  and  power  of  thy  existence  within 
thyself,  that  rulest  all,  that  hast  never  failed  in  any  engage- 
ment, nor  got  tired  in  any  undertaking — "  Tell  me,  I  pray,  thy 
name."  .  .  Thou,  the  secret  and  nameless  One  of  my  exis- 
tence, the  Source  of  my  fears,  the  Object  of  my  hopes  and 
faith,  the  Inspiration  of  my  life,  the  one  animating  and  inde- 
scribable Impulse  within  me,  I  hear  thy  voice  when  I  am  alone 
and  in  the  dark;  when  none  else  is  there,  thou  art.  I  feel  thy 
touch,  I  have  received  thy  aid;  when  my  own  imaginations 
have  failed  me,  when  my  resources  are  exhausted,  when  I  need 
protection  in  the  crucial  moments  of  my  life,  when  I  stand  face 


_I86 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

to  face  with  emergencies,  when  I  have  felt  insecure,  and  tor- 
menting fears  have  crept  over  me,  when  the  attributes  of  the 
flesh  offer  and  hold  no  comfort  for  me — tell  me,  Who  art  thou 
that  comest  with  the  gentleness  of  the  dew  and  the  power  of  a 
God  and  rescuest  me? 

It  is  putting  the  fact  conservatively  to  state  that 
about  thirty-five  hundred  people  throng  to  hear  this 
preacher  each  Sunday,  and  yet  hundreds  of  the  mem- 
bership go  to  other  churches  because  they  can  not  gain 
admittance  at  their  own.  Since  1916,  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  ninety-seven  persons  have  been  added  to  the 
church  by  baptism.  In  the  fall  of  1918  a  great  re- 
vival was  held,  at  which  time  the  Rev.  S.  E.  J.  Wat- 
son, D.  D.,  of  Topeka,  Kansas,  but  now  of  the  Pil- 
grim Baptist  Church,  Chicago,  was  the  preacher. 
More  than  eight  hundred  souls  were  added  to  the 
church.  The  same  year  the  number  of  persons  re- 
ceived by  Christian  experience,  letter,  and  baptism  was 
twenty-six  hundred  and  seventy.  At  this  writing,  ap- 
proximately one  out  of  every  fifteen  Negro  residents 
of  Chicago  is  a  member  of  the  Olivet  Baptist  Church ; 
the  enrolment  is  ten  thousand  and  twelve,  a  group  as 
large  as  the  combined  constituency  of  the  ten  leading 
churches  of  the  Chicago  Baptist  Association, 

The  Sunday  school  has  thirty-one  hundred  pupils 
enrolled.  In  addition,  there  is  a  children's  church 
which  meets  each  Sunday  morning. 

All  of  the  work  has  been  accomplished  by  Pastor 
Williams  and  his  assistants:  the  Rev.  George  Duncan 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 187 

until  he  died,  March  11,  1918;  the  Rev.  Joseph  H. 
Branham,  his  successor,  a  good  preacher  and  a  won- 
derful associate;  the  Rev.  Joseph  C.  Carroll,  and  three 
or  four  ministerial  students  from  the  University  of  Chi- 
cago. There  are  in  all,  thirty  compensated  workers 
and  eight  hundred  and  sixty  church  and  departmental 
officers  in  charge  of  fifty-five  departments. 

The  church  owns  a  lot  at  Thirty-eighth  Street  and 
Prairie  Avenue,  now  used  for  athletics  and  summer 
chautauquas,  an  automobile  bus,  costing  $2,600,  which 
brings  children  to  and  from  the  kindergarten,  old  and 
decrepit  members  to  worship,  and  gives  recreational 
rides  to  needy  convalescent  members,  soldiers,  and 
others.  The  Day  Nursery  and  Working  Girls'  Home, 
located  at  3144-3146  Vernon  Avenue,  cost  $8,250 
without  equipment.  The  total  property  valuation  is 
estimated  at  $250,000;  the  income  for  last  year  was 
$89,000. 

The  Olivet  Baptist  Church  is  a  reminder  of  the 
capacity  of  the  Negro  and  a  timely  rebuttal  of  the 
statement  that  Negroes  are  incapable  of  self-govern- 
ment. The  white  Baptists  of  the  North  have  not  failed 
to  recognize  the  ability  of  Doctor  Williams  nor  to  ac- 
cept the  leading  position  of  the  Olivet  Church.  On 
several  occasions  Pastor  Williams,  himself  a  keen 
student  of  the  relation  of  the  races,  has  been  asked  to 
speak  before  white  groups.  With  much  ability  he  has 
lectured  at  numerous  churches,  and  before  the  North- 
ern Baptist  Theological  Seminary,  the  Divinity  School 
O 


m THE  MASTER'S  SLAVE 

of  the  University  of  Chicago,  the  Illinois  Baptist  State 
Convention,  and  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention. 
His  church  takes  delight  in  permitting  him  to  serve  in 
this  capacity  as  well  as  in  lending  his  influence  to  needy 
places  of  the  race.  He  has  recently  conducted  suc- 
cessful revivals  in  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City,  Peoria,  and 
Omaha.  In  the  last  named  place,  the  influence  of 
Olivet  is  so  great  that  Pastor  Botts  of  the  large  First 
Church,  designed  his  meeting-house  after  the  Olivet 
structure.  Olivet  would  have  long  since  gone  to  seed 
had  she  been  self-centered  and  anti-missionary.  She 
progressed  because  she  performed  her  duty.  Her 
medical  missionary,  Dr.  Robert  M.  Sissusa,  labors  in 
Liberia,  West  Coast,  Africa ;  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
throughout  all  of  the  Northern  territory,  from  the 
many  struggling  churches  in  Chicago,  which  Olivet  has 
helped,  to  the  outstanding  congregations  in  the  North- 
west, there  is  hardly  a  place  where  the  influence  of 
the  Olivet  Baptist  Church  and  Pastor  Williams  has 
not  permeated. 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that,  in  a  position  so  con- 
spicuous and  with  a  reputation  so  far-reaching,  Doctor 
Williams  has  much  opposition.  Yet  he  remains  unper- 
turbed though  very  sensitive  to  accumulating  criticism 
and  hostility  which  is  chiefly  political. 

Unlike  his  predecessor,  Doctor  Williams  tries  not 
to  be  partisan  or  to  ally  himself  with  any  political  fac- 
tion. It  is  hard  at  this  period  of  political  history  to 
determine  with  what  faction  the  former  pastor  would 


THE  OLIVET  BAPTIST  CHURCH 
Thirty-first  Street  and  South  Park  Avenue,  Chicago 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 189 

ally  himself.  We  know,  however,  that  his  last  efforts 
were  spent  in  support  of  Mr.  De  Priest  for  alderman 
under  the  ticket  vouched  for  by  the  Hon.  William 
Hale  Thompson,  Mayor  of  Chicago.  Doctor  Wil- 
liams has  never  attended  a  political  meeting,  and  it  is 
not  certain  that  he  is  a  party  to  any  faction.  Because  of 
this  attitude,  a  newspaper,  which  many  believe  is  sup- 
ported by  the  "  organization,"  continually  attacks  him 
and  his  church.  The  prime  motive  for  these  attacks  is 
to  increase  the  circulation  of  the  paper  and  to  "  bring 
into  line  "  the  Olivet  Church  which  has  too  much  in- 
fluence, they  say,  not  to  be  controlled  by  any  one 
faction. 

Then  there  is  another  yellow  journal  whose  editor, 
a  candidate  for  the  United  States  Congress,  felt 
slighted  when  he  was  not  invited  to  speak  at  the  chau- 
tauqua  of  the  church  held  in  the  summer  of  1919.  His 
animus  was  further  kindled  by  the  fact  that  Doctor 
Williams  advocated  Negroes  joining,  where  possible, 
the  unions  of  organized  labor  in  preference  to  the 
one  of  the  "  would-be  congressman  "  which,  in  addi- 
tion to  other  things,  could  in  no  wise  keep  down  race 
friction. 

It  does  seem  that  since  Doctor  Williams  is  not  for 
the  Thompson  machine  in  its  entirety,  nor  for 
"  Parkerism,"  he  is  sympathetic  with  the  faction  in 
which  Ex-governor  Lowden  played  so  conspicuous  a 
part.  Probably  not  because  of  this  altogether,  but  on 
account  of  the  ability  of  Mr.  Williams  as  a  leader  of 


]90 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

men  he  was  named  by  the  Governor  as  member  of  the 
Race  Commission  during  the  riot  that  occurred  in 
Chicago. 

Whatever  may  be  said  concerning  the  opposition 
that  tried  hard  to  estrange  the  people  that  met  at  the 
two  houses  of  worship,  Doctor  Williams  proved  the 
master  of  the  situation.  Afterward  the  church  sold  the 
meeting-house  at  Twenty-seventh  and  Dearborn 
Streets  to  the  Liberty  Baptist  Church,  of  which  the 
Rev.  D.  W.  Bowen  is  pastor.  Another  result  of  the 
opposition  is  that  it  strengthened  the  church  and  solidi- 
fied it  for  work  as  a  religious,  political,  and  social 
organism. 

With  all  this,  the  splendid  accomplishments  of  the 
church  could  not  have  been  achieved  without  sympa- 
thetic friends  and  financial  aid.  The  Elizabeth  Mc- 
Cormick  Memorial  Fund  is  furnishing  help  to  develop 
a  free  clinic  for  the  undeveloped  children  of  the  kin- 
dergarten and  day-nursery.  The  local  Red  Cross  pro- 
vides two  nurses  who  give  regular  instruction  to  classes 
in  nutrition  and  in  the  home  care  of  the  sick.  A  cer- 
tificate is  given  to  those  who  successfully  complete  the 
course.  About  $18,000  in  cash  has  been  contributed 
by  the  Baptists,  not  counting  the  salaries  of  the  head 
of  the  kindergarten  and  of  two  of  the  three  church  mis- 
sionaries which  are  paid  by  the  Woman's  American 
Baptist  Home  Mission  Society.  Members  of  this  so- 
ciety and  of  The  American  Baptist  Home  Mission  So- 
ciety, together  with   the  city  ministers,  meet  in  an 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 191_ 

advisory  board  with  Doctor  Williams  and  his  workers 
to  plan  the  activities  of  this  great  institutional  church. 
The  following  is  the  weekly  program  of  the  church : 


Sunday 

6.30  A.  M.     Sunrise  prayer-meeting. 
9.30  Sunday  School. 

10.30  Morning  worship;  preaching  in  three  places. 

11.30  Children's  Church. 

12.00   P.  M.      Loyal  Temperance  Legion. 

Lord's  Supper  each  first  Sunday. 
3.30  Missionary  program  each  fourth  Sunday. 

Missionary  program  of  the  junior  society  each 

fifth  Sunday. 
Standard  Literary  Society. 
5.00  Herald  or  Cabinet  meeting. 

Junior  B.  Y.  P.  U. 
6.00  Senior  B.  Y.  P.  U. 

7.45  Evening  worship. 

8.30  Ordinance  of  Baptism  each  first  Sunday. 

Monday 

2.00   P.  M.     Junior  Missionary  Society. 

Senior  Missionary  Society. 
8.00  Social  Service  Committee. 

Young  Ladies'  Cosmopolitan  League. 

Ministers    and    Christian    Workers'    Bible 
School. 


J92 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

Tuesday 
7.00  P.M.     Boy  Scouts. 
7.30  Young  Men's  Social  Unit,  second  and  fourth 

Tuesdays. 
7.45  Girls'  Community  Guild. 

Day-nursery  and  Community  Club,  first  and 

third  Tuesdays. 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  first 

and  third  Tuesdays. 
Sisterhood,  second  and  fourth  Tuesdays. 
Brotherhood,  second  and  fourth  Tuesdays. 
8.00  Ministers    and    Christian    Workers'    Bible 

School,  Tuesday  before  the  fourth  Sunday. 

Wednesday 

7.30  P.M.  Circle  Meetings— The  Pastor's  Aid,  Wide 
Awake,  Calvary,  Queen  Esther,  Galilee, 
Helping  Hand,  Metropolitan,  Olivet,  Pro- 
gressive, Providence,  Royal,  Good  Will, 
Willing  Workers,  and  Victory  Circles. 

Thursday 

1 0.00  A.  M.      Missionary  Art  and  Needle  Craft. 
2.00   P.  M.     Community  Mother's  Meeting. 
7.30  Prayer-meeting. 

Friday 

7.30   P.  M.     Sunday  School  Teachers'  Meeting. 

Choral  Class  Rehearsal. 
8.30  Sunday  School  Teachers'  Training-class  and 

Bible  School. 

Young  Men's  Baraca  Class. 

Overflow  Choir  Rehearsal. 


ELIJAH  JOHN  FISHER 193 

Saturday 

2.00   P.  M.      Industrial  Institute. 
7.30  Choir  Rehearsal. 

There  are  other  activities  which  fill  out  most  of  the 
week-days  and  sometimes  extend  into  the  evenings. 
The  kindergarten  is  operated  every  morning  except 
Saturday  and  Sunday ;  the  health  bureau,  day-nursery, 
and  information  and  free  labor  bureau  every  day  until 
evening,  and  the  public  library  is  open  until  nine 
o'clock  in  the  evening.  Each  summer  a  Daily  Vaca- 
tion Bible  School  is  conducted.  In  1920  there  were 
six  hundred  children  enrolled,  including  French,  Jew- 
ish, Italian,  Irish,  Cuban,  West  Indian,  and  Negro 
boys  and  girls.  When  unemployment  was  at  its 
height  Olivet  fed  eight  hundred,  gave  free  beds  to  three 
hundred  and  eighty,  free  baths  to  three  hundred  and 
sixteen,  and  served  nineteen  thousand  free  meals.  This 
is  the  institution  that  again  entertained  the  National 
Baptist  Convention  in  September  of  last  year. 

Truly  Olivet  is  a  beehive  of  Christian  activity,  but 
donations  and  means  need  to  be  forthcoming  if  Olivet 
is  to  accomplish  the  task  for  which  many  are  persuaded 
to  believe  God  has  called  her — donations  of  clothing 
for  the  poor  and  materials  for  properly  maintaining  the 
day-nursery;  means  for  the  liquidation  of  the  debt  on 
all  the  church  property;  means  for  more  paid  workers 
in  the  kindergarten,  day-nursery,  industrial  enterprises ; 
means  to  direct  the  play  life  of  boys  and  girls ;  means 


]94 THE  MASTERS  SLAVE 

to  expand  the  vision  of  young  men  and  young  women; 
means  to  spread  the  gospel.  For  if  on  the  gaily 
colored  ramparts  of  religious  endeavor  is  to  appear  the 
sign  by  which  men  conquer,  it  must  be  placed  there  by 
the  same  agencies  and  means  by  which  the  lesser  forces 
for  right  and  righteousness  triumph — paid  workers. 

The  past  has  flown  with  its  sacrifice,  its  indomitable 
leader,  Elijah  John  Fisher;  the  present  is  here  with  its 
hero,  Lacey  Kirk  Williams.  What  the  future  holds 
we  know  not,  but  one  thing  is  certain — the  denomina- 
tion will  suffer  unless  there  is  a  common  bond  of  union 
between  the  institutions  in  Chicago.  As  the  dream  of 
Fisher  was  realized  when  the  Negro  Baptists  of  the 
North  came  together,  February  15,  1922,  and  voted 
to  take  over  the  property  of  the  Baptist  Missionary 
Training  School  of  Chicago  and  operate  another 
school,  so  let  us  hope  that  one  of  the  most  useful  minis- 
ters of  color  in  all  the  world,  Lacey  Kirk  Williams, 
will  unite  the  latent  forces  in  Chicago  to  hasten  the 
kingdom  of  the  Lord. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Libraries 


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